Freeze Out
by Jessica-X
Summary: [Elsanna, Futuristic-AU, Office] Elsa Froiland has channelled every second of life into her vast empire, North Mountain Industries. One ten o'clock appointment will reveal that her position at the top of the heap isn't nearly as secure as she thought. Can she (and Anna Snowman's struggling little company) outfox the foxes? [T for "icest", maybe language]
1. Amalgamation

**FREEZE OUT  
**A Futuristic Fiduciary Frozen Fanfiction by Jessica X

Characters © Diznay and all their lot. Original story elements and/or settings ©2014 to myself.  
NOTE: Rated T for the ElsAnna (icest). May progress past that at a later point, if I continue it on.

Something I might do more with, might not, depending on if I have further ideas and/or there's any interest. I was sorely tempted to call this fic _"401k Elsa Is Suffering"_, but thought that would only get me a thundering round of jeers. Never let it be said I can't exercise a bit of restraint! (SHUT UP LAUGHING ALL OF YOU CAKE FIC FANS) Quick apology to those with a deeper understanding of all to do with business/stock market than I have if I've made any mistakes; I tried my best to do research, which only confirmed that I haven't the head for business!

Until we meet again,  
Jessex

* * *

Chapter 1: Amalgamation 

"Miss Froiland, your ten o'clock is here."

Elsa sighed irritably, tapping a few more lights on the panel in front of her. The floating pixels above the projector on the corner of her desk realigned into a new pattern which portrayed none of the sensitive stock figures and financial records they had before, instead coalescing into the snow-capped evergreen that served as their company logo. As it gently began to rotate, she tapped a small light on another panel and said, "Send them in, Karamelli."

Swiping her square-rimmed glasses from her nose, she glared at them as she leaned back in her rigid executive chair. Optic surgery was an outpatient procedure these days. Why had she never considered it seriously? Laziness? Wariness of so-called "medical professionals"? No. She knew why, and it irritated her but it was necessary. _No surgery. _There was no telling what they might find, poking around inside her body.

"OLAF," she announced to the room at large. "Espresso."

"Coming right up, ma'am!" said the cheery male voice of the integrated software. A beverage dispenser behind her began humming. For the fourteenth time, she mentally noted to have the voice tweaked to sound more dignified.

As she distantly heard the sound of the outer-office doors opening, she replaced her glasses and slipped her feet back into the black heels nestled beneath her SmartDesk. Time to "be the business," as the motivational book she had published stated.

A soft knock at the door. After debating for a moment, she picked up a thin stack of hard copy memos and shuffled them, purely to look busy. "Enter."

The door swung open. "Um… is this Elsa Froiland's office? Am I in the right place?"

"It is," Elsa said without looking up, laying the pages in her outbox. Slow steps sounded across the floor. She cleared her throat, folded her hands in the middle of the desk, looked up - and nearly lost her semblance of professionalism.

The lithe beauty couldn't be any older than twenty, but her deep-green trendy business suit with its barely-not-a-mini-skirt helped conceal her youth. Two thin braids on either side of her head that tied in the back kept her red hair from swinging completely free. Her round apple-cheeks were bunched into a completely earnest smile as she shifted her small electronic valise from one hand to the other so she could extend her right in greeting.

"Anna Snowman," she introduced herself nervously.

Normally, Elsa would have remained indifferent throughout the meeting, hoping to keep her opponent on the defensive. Instead, she found her hand was already clasping Anna's, pumping it up and down. The light squeeze on her fingers made her smile slightly against her better judgement, but then she reclaimed her senses and sat back, gesturing to the spare seat. "Please."

Anna sat, perching her valise on her knees and opening it. A few seconds later, it began to hum. "Thanks for seeing me, I know this is so last minute, but I was really hoping to-"

"Miss Snowden, I'm a very busy woman," Elsa cut her off. "Can we please skip the apologies?"

"Snow_man_," Anna corrected her quietly. "As in Snowman Home Robotics? You know… 'Do you wanna build a Snowma-'"

"I'm familiar with your firm and its popular slogan," Elsa sighed tiredly. That reminded her of her espresso, now ready and quietly cooling in the dispenser. She swiveled away. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"O-oh! I, um… juice, please."

Elsa nearly dropped the tiny mug, looking over her shoulder. "Did you ask me for _juice?"_

Still blinking in surprise at being asked, her cheeks took on a pink tinge as she whispered, "Um… a fruit-vegetable blend, if you have it? I, um, I don't process caffeine well."

Hiding a grin of disbelief, Elsa turned back to the machine and said, "OLAF; carrot-orange-pineapple juice."

"You got it, chief!" the computer voice chirruped.

"Wow," Anna giggled. "I like your AI."

"He's an idiot," Elsa sighed as she sipped at her espresso while watching the sunshine-hued substance fill the glass. "But he does the job flawlessly, so it wouldn't be cost-effective to retool him purely to make him less… perky. Much though I'd love to."

A slight warmth leached into the girl's voice as she said, "You call it a 'him'. That's sweet."

Pursing her lips, she retrieved the juice and passed it across the desk, which the girl took eagerly and sipped at as she spoke. "Now then, to business. You wanted to discuss the possible merger between Snowman and North Mountain Industries. As far as I'm aware, we're not hurting in the robotics department, so I'm wondering what your division might bring to the table, exactly."

"That's… well, I don't think you quite understand. I'm asking you _not _to go through with the merger."

"You're asking…" Elsa set her mug down and stared at the girl. "Wait, I'm sorry. Why are you here?"

"I, uh, just told you?"

"If you're not interested in pursuing a merger, then why are we wasting our time?"

"Because _you _are," Anna stated flatly, a suspicious look in her sparkling blue eyes. "Wh… I'm only here because I thought maybe, if I came in person, I could talk you out of it."

Elsa leaned forward on one elbow. "Listen, _Mizz _Snowden. I only agreed to this meeting out of curiosity. It wouldn't be prudent to pass up a possibly lucrative venture simply because it didn't _seem _to be profitable, but now you're telling me you don't even want it? I'm not much for games, so whatever you're playing, I am very disinterested."

"But-"

"On your way, please. Karamelli can validate your parking."

The two little ginger eyebrows knitting above her nose was such a cute gesture that it almost made Elsa smile, but she suppressed it. Weakness during business dealings could not be allowed to show through. "Miss Froiland… I, um, I thought you were the CEO of this company, I assumed you would know about the offers."

_"What _offers?" she demanded sharply.

Gulping, Anna thumbed the touch screen, sending a few things dancing about her projection display. A popup on Elsa's asked for confirmation of data transfer from a previously unknown user. Debating for a moment, Elsa accepted.

Minutes passed as she took in what she was seeing. The milk and sugar she always added to her espresso began curdling in her stomach. "No…"

"So you… really didn't know about this?"

Elsa wished there was a way she could more gracefully declare that she had been completely unaware of this situation without making her sound inept, unfit to hold her position. There wasn't. "I did not."

"That 'Winter Consortium' has been buying up our stock from our shareholders for months. I only just found out a few days ago that all of its members sit on _your _executive board."

"They have a large enough share to buy it out from under you." She thumbed a few more things, scanned down rows of numbers and lists of names, but it only confirmed her fears instead of assuaging them. "It's a hostile takeover in the… most underhanded way."

"Miss Froiland," Anna began in a practiced, would-be professional voice if not for the nervousness tinging it, "Our company has been a thriving part of the city of Arendopolis ever since my father, Colin Arendelle, and my mother, Alicia Snowman, first took it public twenty years ago. They have built a strong and solid foundation, giving back to the community whenever possible, strengthening our economy… and we provide thousands of jobs to people who desperately need them. A merger would almost _certainly-"_

"Hush," Elsa whispered, but it still cut straight through Anna's speech and caused her to fall silent. "I'm… I have to think."

Minutes ticked by as Elsa studied the figures on her screen. It was unbelievable. No, it was unconscionable. And old Dick Weselton was chairman of that board, he had always been so kindly…

A quick search revealed things went far deeper. Not that she would be divulging this to her ten o'clock appointment, but there were several other pending buyouts that seemed particularly sudden, and not limited to robotics. Every industry was being targeted. Before long, this so-called Winter Consortium would have the entire city in its grip.

"I… don't know if I can stop it."

"Ma'am?" Anna asked hesitantly in a small voice.

"What? Sorry." But she when she glanced over at the girl briefly, almost purely to assure her that she hadn't gone randomly comatose, she was shocked to see wetness on her cheeks.

"This is my whole life, okay? All I have left is this company, I- with Mom and Dad gone, and my husband just left me for another woman, and it's- and I can't-"

Elsa gaped. No. Oh, _no. _This girl was about to start crying in the middle of her office. This was something she had never been prepared to deal with; none of her other investors or clients had cried. And goodness knows it had been literal _years _since she'd been close enough to any friend or lover to be exposed to that sort of thing. Pity mingled with discomfort as she watched this bizarre event take place, and she tried to think of something to do.

"OLAF, tissues."

"Huh? I don't know that one, ma'am."

She'd never programmed him to retrieve tissues. Why would she have? She wasn't running a therapist's couch. Gritting her teeth, she spun and began rummaging through one of her drawers until she came up with a travel-sized sachet, which she ripped open unceremoniously and offered to her blubbering guest.

"Th-thank you," Anna hiccuped, blowing her nose. Then she took a few deep breaths, rolling back her emotions. "It's… I haven't been sleeping. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Elsa said numbly, then shook herself. "Now… I'm not sure what I can tell you at this point, other than that I am very sorry. This was nothing I was aware of; of course, I have given the board leeway to pursue lucrative ventures, but these sort of tactics… they're not what I've tried to practise here at North Mountain, I hope you know that."

Anna stared at her for a moment, then nodded slightly. "I believe you."

Elsa blinked. "You do? I wouldn't if I were in your seat."

"No, it's… you're not a bad person. I can tell."

A stirring filled Elsa's heart at that. She looked down at the partly-empty pack of tissues and felt heat in her own cheeks. It was probably the grandest act of generosity toward a fellow human she had personally done in a long while. "It's… you don't get much opportunity to be a good person in my line of work, Miss Snowman."

Anna nodded vaguely, blowing her nose again and dabbing at her eyes, trying not to force her mascara to run. Not that she needed any in the first place. "You said my name right that time."

"What? Oh." Elsa tried to shrug, but the motion came off jerky. "Sometimes it takes me a while to remember names."

"Sorry. I'm really sorry, I just… well." She cleared her throat. "Since you're the CEO, though, can't you, um, veto their proposal?"

"Indeed. This one will probably come across my desk in a few days in the guise of a normal buyout, and I will veto it, but… they'll remain shareholders. And regardless of acquisition of the company, they can start pulling their stock. You'll be nearly bankrupt by the end of the month."

Anna rubbed the end of her nose. "We had a bad quarter last year, and I was forced to sell off a lot of my personal stock. It's… there isn't much left of 'my' company that's truly mine."

Elsa considered that for a few moments. "I have a friend who could help us."

"Huh?"

"Sven Kristofferson. He runs a transport company and he owes me a few favours. This would mean calling in most of them, but-" She glanced around the room, hair on the back of her neck prickling. "OLAF, sweep."

The machine began to hum to life. One of Anna's shapely eyebrows hiked upward. "You're cleaning your office _now?"_

"Shh." About thirty seconds passed with nothing but a transitioning hum. Then the lights began flickering to and fro, and a look of fear passed over the young entrepreneur's features. When everything settled down, Elsa whispered, "Okay, we're clear."

"Clear of _what?!"_

"Listening devices." She made a vague gesture that encompassed the whole room. "If this consortium my board has cooked up is really doing things like buying out businesses without my knowledge or approval, I wouldn't put it past them to plant a bug or two."

Anna's eyes were round as saucers, and despite their situation, Elsa felt herself smile slightly. "Y-you… no, that stuff doesn't really happen, does it? Only in holo-movies."

"I found one in another sweep." Ignoring the frightened squeak, she leaned in again. "If I asked Sven to intercept a few of those shares the company is bidding on… he could put them directly in my hands instead of the board's. I could then sell them back to you. At a profit, naturally."

"At a profit? But you said…" Anna's face fell. "No, it's not right for me to expect you to do this for free. I'm sorry, that wasn't fair."

"A _small _profit," Elsa amended ruefully. Why was she being so nice to this girl? Was it purely to save face because board members who were supposed to be keeping her in the loop were doing dealings like this behind her back? "A fair one, not an astronomically high one like those bastards are angling for. If I turn around and sell it to you and merely break even, I'll be mocked in every jet-setting circle from here to Beijing."

Anna began to tremble again, but she wasn't crying. "But what if… what if I can't raise the funds to buy the stock back? We're doing much better this year, but still not what you'd call 'flush'." Then she laughed. "And Hans got everything in the divorce. I'm sleeping on my office couch. I don't even have a home anymore; Snowman Robotics _is _my home."

This sob story couldn't be true. It was too fantastical, too bleak… but there didn't seem to be a dishonest bone in this young woman's curvy little body. "Come now, you could at least rent a hotel room."

"Hotel rooms don't come cheap!" Then she waved her hand back and forth. "B-but anyway, I… I dunno, I have some holdings in other companies I can cash in… my 401k… government bonds. Mother's old jewellery. We can make it happen, I'm sure."

"Good." Elsa felt more than regretful about pushing forward past this unpleasantness, but she was unsure she could handle another outburst of emotion from this overtaxed young head of a floundering business. "Then I'll, um, I'll give Sven a call tomorrow." When Anna's face crumpled again, she hastily said, "Today! I'll call him today."

Anna looked up blearily. "Y'know, I watched Mother run this business for so long, I… I thought I was ready, but when the cancer took her, it… was too early, and I mean, I know I was technically old enough to take the reins, b-but I don't know what the hell I'm doing, I mean, it's still all theory to me from business school, and I'm putting it into practice when I've barely graduated, and I… and how am I supposed to handle all this? How am I supposed to run something I can just barely understand?"

"Enough," Elsa grunted. "Feeling sorry for yourself won't teach you how to be a better businesswoman. Learn by doing." Anna nodded as she sighed. "You don't have _anywhere _to stay? Don't you have any friends?"

"No. Most of my friends were Hans's friends. When I said he got everything in the divorce, I meant them, too." She smiled blearily. "This is what my life has come to! Sleeping on a couch, until the consortium kicks me off that, too!"

"Oh, don't be stupid. You'll stay with me."

Elsa had been thumbing through the records on her display again when she said that, but then she felt her entire body go rigid when her brain caught up. What did she just say?

"Wh… what did you just say?" Seemed they both had the same reaction.

"I…" How could she back out of it now? There was no way to do so without sounding like a complete and total bitch. "Well, my suite has a guest room that hardly ever sees any use. I'll expect you to pay a negligible amount of rent, of course; I'm not running a flophouse."

"Live with you?" Anna said in a hushed voice. "But… oh God, I must sound so pathetic, I'm sorry, I- you don't have to take pity on me like that!"

"Have to keep an eye on you while we out-trick the tricksters, don't I?" Even to her own ears, this was far friendlier than Elsa was used to treating anyone. What was it about this girl?

Partly, it was that she was beautiful. Elsa couldn't deny that it was a factor; her lightly-freckled skin shone through even her heavy concealer, and her honest demeanor and effervescence was too cute. In all the time she spent swimming with the sharks on Wall Street, it was nice to find one innocent dolphin.

Also… she hated to let this possibility through into her conscious mind, but she knew it to be true. She hated living alone. Living with people was almost as maddening as living alone, so she had never made it a point to keep her romantic affiliations around for long. Perhaps it might be nice to simply have a roommate for once, especially since this was sure to be a temporary arrangement.

Even so… there was another _something. _One she couldn't put her finger on.

"You… I don't know if I can accept that," Anna was babbling, putting down the juice glass she had drained a moment before. "W-we barely know each other, and it's so generous- and I don't even know where it is! What if it's way on the other side of town, and it'll make my commute hell? What if-"

"It's one floor up," Elsa chuckled, feeling the warmth of her own smile and being stunned that it existed. "Think you can get all the way there from here?"

Anna thought furiously, standing up and pacing. "Well… okay, so it only took me a ten minute airway hop to get here from the office, but… geez, you can't really want me living with you! I'm a total slob, and I hog the covers, and I like loud music when nobody's around, and-"

"Wait, wait," Elsa laughed louder. "Why would I care about you hogging the covers when you'll have your own set of them to hog?!"

"O-oh, yeah," Anna muttered, then giggled at her own stupidity. "Well, you gotta understand, the last person I lived with was my ex-husband; he was always complaining about it."

"If we start sleeping together, I think the covers will be the last thing we're worried about," Elsa snorted as she pushed her chair back and stood, straightening her own pinstriped blue suit as she did so. Belatedly, her insinuation came back to her, but she knew if she barrelled ahead it wouldn't be problematic. "Er, shall I escort you upstairs to see if it's to your liking?"

Fumbling with her valise, Anna trailed after the CEO as they passed through the outer office. The burly man at the desk was instructed to hold all calls, and he nodded, deep chocolate eyes following Anna's every move.

"So," Elsa said as the elevator zipped them upstairs. "Do you… have references?"

"References? OH - for the rental agreement! How stupid, I can't believe I didn't think about it, I-"

"Shhh," Elsa snickered. "Stop apologising for everything, you'll give yourself a stroke. I was joking, of course. It's up to the tenant whether or not they set up a sub-tenant contract. What say we see where we are at the start of next month before we tie everything up with legality?"

"Um…"

The elevator doors swished open, but neither of them moved. "Yes?"

"I, uh…" Anna cleared her throat and muttered, "I really like your hair."

"Excuse me?"

"Your hair," she said in an even softer voice. "It's such a soft gold-white, and a killer style, and it… man, I wish my hair looked like that. Ever since I walked into your office, I couldn't stop thinking about it, but there's no easy way to say that to somebody during a business meeting, is there?"

Again, she felt her face warming. "W-well, I… thank you, Miss Snowman."

"Anna."

"Anna." A thrill shot through her when she said the name. Its shape felt very natural in her mouth, as if she'd said it many times before.

The elevator door slid shut again. Giggling, Anna leaned forward and thumbed it open. "S-sorry."

"No, it's fine." Elsa self-consciously smoothed down a strand of her hair. "After you."

As Elsa followed Anna down the hallway, watching her plump rear filling out the back of her skirt as it sashayed from side to side with her steps, the feeling that she might be making the worst kind of mistake settled over her like a cloak of warning.

"Left," she whispered when they came to a branch. At the door, Elsa thumbed the printpad, and once it clicked, she said, "OLAF, record new print."

"Ready!" the machine piped up. "State print identity."

Taking her hint, Anna pressed her thumb to the plate and said her name.

"Welcome, Anna! Any friend of Elsie's is a friend of mine!"

She laughed again. "That's hilarious!"

"Yes," Elsa grumbled. "A riot. And if I ever catch _you _calling me 'Elsie,' I'll ensure you regret it; I can't get him to say it right no matter how much I try…"

The wide open, voluminous living room was sparsely decorated with chaise lounges and settees, all of them varying shades of white and off-white, with an enormous white skin rug in the center of the hardwood flooring. A flatscreen hung over a real fireplace, and art decorated the other walls. The outer wall was entirely made of glass, but Venetian blinds shaded them from the midday sun.

"It's imitation," she told Anna as she pushed the door shut behind her, catching her horrified look. "No polar bears were harmed in the making of my carpets."

"N-no, I- doesn't matter," she half-lied, embarrassed. Then she looked around again. "This is all so gorgeous… you don't really want to share it with me, do you?"

"No, but I don't _mind _sharing it," she corrected with a smirk. "You'll be through here."

Elsa's room led off the wall by the fireplace, being that it had one of its own that used the same flue. On its opposite side was the open kitchen with a bar and several stools, and past that two guest rooms and the main lavatory. They stopped at the first door, and Elsa turned the brass knob and opened it.

"_Oh,_" Anna breathed as she crossed over the threshold, taking in the cozy beige-and-brown theme, the antique cherry-wood furniture. "I- oh, Elsa, it's so charming; I assumed it would be white like the living room, all sterile, but this is homey and warm…"

"You know, I don't recall saying _you _could use _my _given name…"

Anna spun, hands over mouth. "God, I- I'm sorry, Miss Froiland, I'm-"

"Kidding, kidding," Elsa chuckled, running her hand along the dresser. "This piece, the one that completes the set… it cost me quite a lot to track it down."

"You can't want me in here! I'll probably wreck the place!" Gulping, she placed a delicate finger on the knob of one bedpost. "One time, I managed to break the flatscreen with a ball of yarn. Hans didn't speak to me for the rest of the day, not one word!"

"With a ball of-" Elsa held up a hand to forestall the explanations. "We all have freak accidents. Believe me, I've had a fair few."

"You have?"

At that, the CEO felt an uncomfortable lurch in her stomach. _No, don't say any more, _she warned herself. "Oh, you know… not everyone can have perfect coordination every moment of the day." Clearing her throat, she said, "I don't cook, I order room service or takeout. Let me know well before dinnertime if you want any of what I'm having and get me the money for your portion; _no poaching off my plate."_

"What if I want to cook us dinner sometime?"

The uncomfortable lurch was of a completely different nature this time, one distinctly more giddy. "Y- you can cook, can you?"

Anna merely shrugged. "Um, n-not a whole lot of dishes, but there are four or five I mastered. Pancakes, and omelettes… oh, and French toast!"

"Those are all breakfast items," Elsa snorted.

Her pouty little lip was so adorably petulant… "So? You can have breakfast for dinner."

Debating for a moment, Elsa shrugged. "You buy the groceries. Until I'm sure of your culinary skill, I'm not throwing away money on something that might not be to my liking."

"Deal," Anna said, then grinned. "Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!"

Then her arms were around Elsa.

_What?! _a voice screamed inside her head as the warm, soft body pressed into her through the two layers of somewhat-rigid fabric. Even after it had deduced this was a friendly gesture common among those who had just agreed to be flatmates, she still felt her pulse thundering in her ears. Her hands had already gone where they shouldn't by then, however; slipping around Anna's waist instead of her back.

"Ooh," Anna whispered, and the shiver could be felt very easily. "Such a princely hug, Miss Froiland!"

"Y-you caught me off my guard," Elsa breathed, trying for a laugh and knowing it sounded weak.

Anna pulled back to look into her eyes. Elsa's heart began to race, but she doggedly kept her face impassive, only a small smile in place. "Okay, so I get that now, but… can I ask you something? It's probably gonna sound super weird."

"Hmm?"

"Why… why does this feel so easy? Like we're old friends?" She let out a tiny laugh, lowering her eyes to somewhere around the tall blonde's chin. "Boy, that's dumb."

"It isn't!" Elsa coughed, then raised a hand to Anna's shoulder. "And I don't know, either. But you're not imagining it; I feel quite comfortable here."

Heat began rushing into her face as she stared at the younger girl, and she did her best to stave it off, but she still knew it was going to be harder the longer they held each other. Meanwhile, Anna seemed to only be aware that their nearness wasn't as awkward as it should be for two people who had scarcely known each other an hour.

"Thank you," she breathed quietly. "For… being so good to me today. I kinda needed it. You'll never know how glad I am I met you!"

As they disengaged and Anna began wandering around the rest of the apartment, Elsa pressed a worried hand against her lips. _And I hope you never figure out how glad I am to have met you, little Anna. Hope _I _never figure it out, either._

_- To Be Continued -_


	2. The Way To A Woman's Heart

NOTE: Goodness, but you seemed to enjoy the last chapter! Thank you so much! This one's fluffier. I'm still world-building a bit, straining through the contents of my diseased mind for gemstones to use in future chapters. Still… had some fun with this one, and it's a bit longer. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2: The Way To A Woman's Heart

Coffee.

The irresistible aroma of smouldering grounds gently lifted Elsa from her slumber. Fingernails raked through her bangs as she rolled in her sheets, trying to figure out where she was. Of course, she was in her bed in the suite, but she could as easily have been in a hotel room on the other side of the globe.

_What time is it? _The flatscreen above her dresser was displaying modern art, but the watermark background said it was a little after seven. A full half hour before she normally even _contemplated _waking up. Too late now; with the smell of coffee pervading her quarters, there would be no going back to sleep.

Groggily, she somehow managed to extricate herself from the tangle of sheets that wrapped around her calves and crawled into the shower. Heat began to reverse the effects of sleep, invigorating body and mind. As she worked the jojoba-infused shampoo into a lather, she allowed thoughts to flow through her as she always did in preparation for another day of corporate multitasking.

So the board thought they could sidestep her authority. Fine. She could combat that in any number of ways that would have their heads spinning. Several hours had been spent the previous afternoon on just such a thing, following her agreeable holo-conference with Kristofferson. This would not be easy, not in the slightest, but it was doable. That was all the reassurance she needed.

And then there was Anna.

Elsa's hands slipped and she felt a sharp pain in her scalp as the redhead swam into her mind's eye. Leaving Elsa to finish out her day at the office, she had been waiting in the living room when the CEO walked in around six or seven that night, an assortment of bags around her. When she asked the young fool why she hadn't already begun settling, Anna insisted that Elsa be absolutely sure this arrangement wasn't going to be any inconvenience before going further. Elsa told her to shut up and get the battered old luggage out of her sight so they could order Thai.

Dinner had been stilted and strange, but they gradually moved beyond initial discomfort. Elsa learned about Anna's father's untimely death in a robotics accident when she was only five, the string of boyfriends her mother had gone through before giving up on finding another bond so close, which coincided with the beginning of her prolonged battle against ductal carcinoma. How she had rushed into the marriage with this Hans character purely so her mother could attend the ceremony, to set the ailing woman's mind at ease in regards to her daughter's future. Elsa lost her appetite, but doggedly ate, determined not to let Anna know how much the story saddened her.

Meanwhile, Elsa gave her the same autobiographical schpiel from the back of her book; standard family life with her mother and stepfather, gifted program, advanced placement classes, completing her secondary education by the age of sixteen. Perfect grades in business school, surging to the head of the firm she was working with in under two years. Playing the stocks so dangerously and recklessly that everyone called her insane… until she quadrupled her net worth in six months. North Mountain had been acquired, a fledgling company, but she made it her own and fed everything into it until it dwarfed the competition - or consumed it outright. Featured in Forbes, interviews on C-SPAN and The View. A Bentley and a BMW in the car park underneath their building.

Anna had surprised her by knowing most of the professional details already. She also surprised her by making a horrible mess of herself with the Thai food, yet looking adorable the entire time. This had to be the most uncomplicated creature in the universe. What on earth was she doing in the world of business? Surely her mother had to have seen that it wasn't the life for her daughter. Elsa was familiar with that, of course; making sure the child's financial future is secure rather than their happiness. All too familiar.

As she dressed in a black suit with a blood red blouse and painstakingly styled her hair, she went over her plan of attack in her mind. Call her old mentor, Yzma, and see if she could set her up with some of that digital witchcraft that could crack encrypted files. Go over every last gigabyte with a fine-toothed comb until she found some loophole, some way to mitigate the damage. If all else failed… there were always her accounts in the Caymans. No need to panic yet, though. Time was on her side.

When Elsa emerged from her room, heels in one hand and fastening an earring with the other, she blinked in surprise when she saw what was laid out on the bar in front of her.

"Hey, sunshine!" Anna greeted her brightly, hastily wiping powdered sugar from her freckled nose with a washcloth. "Hope you like fresh fruit on your pancakes - I got lots of it!"

"This…" Blinking, she took in the tottering plates of hotcakes, the three - wait, _three?! _- different kinds of syrup, the bowls of sliced strawberries, blueberries, peaches…

"Um, and I used your coffee," she admitted with a guilty smile as she tucked a strand of unruly red hair behind her ear. "But, y'know, if that wasn't okay-"

"No, no, don't worry about that. How… long have you been up doing all of this?"

"Only an hour. Cream and sugar?"

Once Elsa had nodded, Anna turned away to the coffee pot, and she felt her throat constrict when she noticed the redhead was only wearing a carnation-pink pair of panties below her waistline. At least she had a shirt and apron on besides, but it still threw her for a loop.

_Oh, brilliant. She's one of _those _roomies. No possible way this could go haywire. Not at all._

"You didn't have to spring for Thai last night, y'know," Anna whispered as she added cream to the mug of black liquid she was carrying across the kitchen. "You told me I'd be paying for my share, then didn't let me. Make up your mind!"

"It-" She had to clear her throat to rid it of the strangled quality that could very well have been a dead giveaway as to her state of mind. "It was your first night, I'd never expect you to pay. Next time, of course, we'll go Dutch."

At that, Anna smirked playfully. "Oh? Are you taking me out?"

Elsa just barely managed to swallow the mouthful of - perfectly prepared - coffee instead of spewing it all over the countertop. Anna merely laughed at the reaction and scooted one of the plates closer to her. "Go on, hurry up. I gotta know what you think."

Once she had constructed her mountain of slowly-cooling cake and slowly-warming fruit and forked a bite into her mouth, Elsa melted. _"Mmmhh,_ that's exquisite!"

"Really?" Anna glowed, clasping her hands under her chin. "You're not just buttering me up?"

_Maybe later, _Elsa thought lewdly, then brushed the thought away. "They're the best pancakes I've ever had, and you're competing with my mother."

Very obviously pleased, Anna let out a titter as she began dressing her own plate. "That's where I learned my recipe. From _my _mom, not yours, of course! But she was so much better in the kitchen… I don't know when she found the time to learn how to do it all, what with running the family business and everything…"

Elsa merely nodded, too deeply immersed in the sensations dancing across her palate. Not overly cloying, and not bland; fluffy and light, yet buttery and satisfying. The syrup she had selected was pure maple from Quebec; none of that tame corn-byproduct abomination for her. The tiny smattering of strawberries shot through her taste buds with a zing. Heaven.

"You're… really enjoying those, huh?"

"Hmm?" Elsa said vaguely as she surfaced from her reverie.

Anna was blushing scarlet. "Um, sorry, I- well, you just looked… God, I'm sorry, never mind."

"Tell me how I looked," Elsa demanded, partly anxious and partly amused.

"Happy."

The smile slid off her face. "Is that a crime?" she demanded defensively, instantly regretting it when Anna winced.

"Of course not. But it's the first time you have since I met you yesterday morning."

"Not everyone can be a rainbow-farting Snow White every moment of the day," she grumbled, grabbing her coffee. Anna giggled, but she also looked put out by the comment at the same time. The regret only deepened, but she wasn't sure how to take back her words without coming across as wishy-washy.

"So… about the business…"

"Right," Elsa sighed, straightening. This was more like it. "Sven has already set things into motion. There's a shell company he owns which can- well, anyway. It'll get done. This afternoon, I'll try and follow up with him on his progress."

"That's good, that's… good." Anna cleared her throat. "Did you want anything else with the pancakes? Bacon or sausage, or maybe an egg?"

"I don't eat pork products." Seeing the hint of a grimace cross Anna's face, she waved a hand. "For dietary reasons. If you cook some for yourself, I won't be offended."

"N-no, no, I'm fine."

The silenced deepened as they ate. Elsa felt like the worst kind of bitch. Here this woman she had practically forced to live in her spare room was doing everything she possibly could to show her appreciation, and what had she done? All but thrown it back in her face. Stellar performance. Her mother would be chewing her out in the other room by now if she were there.

_Of course, you know that won't ever happen again, _she thought morosely as she chewed. _Not until you completely transmogrify yourself into someone you're not._

When the arm slid around her shoulders, her fork fell to the plate with a loud clatter and she held very still.

"Do you… wanna talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" she demanded, holding perfectly still. "And what do you think you're doing, exactly?"

Anna didn't move, though. "Dude, you seriously look upset - and way more upset than bacon and pancakes would make anybody."

Being addressed as "dude" was enough to shake her from her brooding state, and she twitched to shrug off the would-be comforting arm. "It's nothing."

"Really?"

"_Leave it,_" she ordered tersely. Anna flinched again as her arm dropped away, blue-green orbs dropping away in chagrin. How many times could you make a sweet, caring individual afraid of you in one morning? Elsa's guilt knew no bounds, but she was also irritated at the nosy girl's inability to back off. "I'm fine, alright? Look. We aren't old schoolmates, we aren't sisters, and we aren't best friends forever. It's not your responsibility to cheer me up over every little thing. So… please, when I say it's-"

"Fine," Anna sighed, rising from the stool next to hers and padding back around the bar into the kitchen. "You're right, I'm overstepping. I'll watch it from now on."

The feeling that she should apologise persisted, even though she was almost _positive _she had been in the right. In the end, she settled on a simple, "Thank you."

"Hmm?" Anna said dully.

"For breakfast. Thank you."

Her shrug was small and subdued. "No problem."

_You're a real bleeding heart, Froiland, _she mentally berated herself as she polished off the pancakes and coffee. What else could she do without undermining all the things she had said - and meant - moments before? Nothing, that's what.

"You don't have to do that," she said when Anna took her plate and began scrubbing it in the sink.

"My mess. I'll clean it up."

"No, I mean-" Sighing in exasperation, she went on, "There's a dishwasher, and I have a cleaning service, it's really not-"

Anna chuckled. "Don't worry so much, okay? This is just part of the process for me."

"Then I'll help."

"You will not. You're already dressed for work, you'll ruin your suit."

"_I'll help." _Her jacket was already draped over the back of one stool and she was rolling up her sleeves as she paced around the bar and into the kitchen. "Stop being stubborn."

"This isn't stubborn," Anna grunted as she began scraping at the pan that had turned their cakes golden brown. "This is just… the way it works. Put on an apron first, at least!"

Rolling her eyes, Elsa reached under the sink and snatched an apron from the neat stack she hardly ever touched. "Are you always so pushy in other people's kitchens?"

"Hey, when I'm cooking in it, it's _my _kitchen. You can have it back once all the dishes are clean."

As Elsa began drying the dishes, she watched Anna work. A thin sheen of sweat began to emerge on her forehead, and a very quiet part of Elsa started comparing the young woman to a child trying to program their first holo-vid to play on repeat; all sharply-focused innocence. The wisp of fondness was there and gone in the blink of an eye, leaving Elsa stunned and vaguely disoriented.

~ o ~

For a Friday, the office was unnecessarily busy. A double-booked slot had her rushing through the first appointment and apologising through the second one. Six employees had to be informed their positions were being downsized - which Elsa would have felt guilty over if she hadn't worked her fingers to the bone making sure it wasn't _twenty-_six of them. A hurried lunch left her just enough time to place another secure call to Kristofferson.

"I got this," the sandy-haired beefcake assured her, stylus twirling in his meaty hand as he stared back at her from the projection above her desk. "Can't you take some downers or something? All's gonna be right with the world by Monday - Tuesday at the latest. Trust me."

"You don't inspire confidence," she grumbled as she tossed her empty yoghurt cup into the waste recycler by her desk.

At that, his eyebrows knitted. "Something I don't get, here… why do you give a rat's ass?"

"Eh?"

"About this Snowflake company. Big deal, another bit player eats it; sad, but that's just how the world works. Why does it matter to you, though?"

Elsa shrugged, popping the top on a yerba mate cocktail. "Sets a precedent. The board members and their consortium thought they could pull this one over on me without my knowledge. Oughtn't I let them know their dirty dealings are far from appreciated?"

"Sure, sure. But normally, I'd see you buying it out from under them yourself. Why more or less wrap it up as a shiny gift for the original owner?"

Elsa tried to remain passive, but then she sighed. "You went over the figures."

"This is peanuts for you. Level with me." After a few minutes of silence, he leaned in conspiratorially, eyes twinkling with glee. "New girl?"

"Sven!"

"It is!" he chuckled, clapping his hands. "Oh, I knew it, I knew you had to be working another angle!"

"That isn't-" The blush filling Elsa's cheeks was complete and evident before she had any chance of heading it off. "Shut up laughing, you stupid berk! You are very, _very _wrong in this case - and presumptuous, I might add!"

"Yeah, right!" he chortled. "You're totally head over heels, and you're actually sacrificing _profit _over it! She must really be something!"

"She is!" Recoiling at her own admission, she barged ahead. "No, I- that is, she's a decent sort I don't want to see crushed by something _I _should have anticipated and intercepted! Christ, stop making me out to be a, a she-wolf on Wall Street!"

"Your face is so freaking red right now!"

White-knuckling on the armrests of her chair, she growled, "Sven, you're the absolute worst! Can't you get out of it and j-just help me?!"

Wiping away tears of mirth, he said, "Okay, okay, I think I can do that. But only if you answer me one question." When Elsa didn't even bother to respond, he asked it. "Redhead?"

Blood draining from her face, she ended the call.

The following one to Yzma was a lot less stress-inducing. The wizened old woman was mildly surprised to be hearing from a former apprentice, but took it all in stride as was her usual manner. After asking a few pointed questions, she said she'd be in touch once she had something to send along and signed off brusquely. It was where Elsa had learned her own sense of professionalism, after all.

Two more minutes. She'd allow herself two more minutes to be exhausted by everything happening around her before she forced her attentions back to urgent matters.

When she next opened her eyes, she saw Anna's nose an inch from her own.

"ACK!" she yelped, pushing back so violently that her chair tipped, dumping her head over heels into the floor.

"Omigod!" Anna squealed as she raced forward, setting a bag of something on the floor so she could more accurately check for injury. "What the hell- are you alright?"

"Anna," Elsa breathed once her mind had reoriented itself. She was still in her office. Much more importantly, Anna's hands were gliding over her head and neck. "A-ANNA!"

"Oh, good," the younger girl sighed in obvious relief as her gentle fingers probed. "Doesn't seem to be any real damage. Man, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were asleep or I would never-"

"No, no, it's…" She trailed off as their eyes met again.

There it was, that same odd sense of connection. Was she falling for her? Preposterous. It wasn't just sadly unlikely, it was a stupid thing to even think. It also wasn't how this felt - not as she related it to any of her previous relationships, at any rate. Even so… with the other girl blissfully unaware of the turmoil burning within her heart over such a silly thing, how was she supposed to get a handle on it?

"Wh-what?" Anna breathed, blinking rapidly. Not so blissfully unaware, apparently.

"Help," she demanded of the universe weakly.

"Help?"

Elsa forced herself to blink, to ignore the soft, smooth fingers against her neck, the vaguest hint of chocolate carried on Anna's warm breath as it danced on the verge of her senses. "Help… me up."

"Oh!" Laughing, mostly at herself, she stood back and very easily pushed her chair upright again. "There! All better?"

"Y-yes," Elsa stuttered, blinking in surprise. "How- that is… you lifted me so easily."

"Simple physics; I put my foot under the wheels, made a lever-and-fulcrum kind of thing." Shrugging, she picked up the bag and sat on the edge of the desk. "I mean, I do play tennis to keep in shape and all, but trust me, I'm no body-builder!"

Elsa allowed herself a quiet chuckle. "You bench-pressed me easily enough." Then she realized how close Anna was sitting and diverted her attention purposefully. "What's in the bag?"

"Lunch! I mean… unless you already ate? Figured we could do something light after those heavy pancakes this morning." Her head dipped sheepishly. "My fault, I know, I know."

"How light is light?"

"Salads." When Elsa raised an eyebrow, Anna went on, "But I bet you've never had one from the Greek place down my way, Leksi's? _So _good, and this dressing - well, here."

The disposable container was already open and in her hands before Elsa could protest that she had already ate yoghurt. Then again, it hadn't seemed very filling after such a large breakfast. "Ehrm… I, uh, thank you. But you didn't have to come all this way."

"Well…" Anna fidgeted with the plastic cutlery she had been about to hand her, then sighed. "I felt bad about this morning. Not that I'm taking all the blame," she said pointedly with a small smile. "Still, we kind of… I think we both stepped on each other's toes a little without meaning to."

"We did," Elsa sighed with relief. It had been niggling at the back of her mind throughout her entire workday. "Of course, we can't expect everything to go smoothly overnight, but… yes, my apologies if I seemed overly harsh."

Anna's tiny smile grew wider. "You did, but I was being all pushy. No big deal." Then she handed over the fork and retrieved her own salad. "Better finish it all; the lettuce starts to wilt if you try to save some for later. Trust me, found that out the hard way!"

For a few quiet seconds, Elsa merely watched the energetic girl spearing greens and feta cheese and forcing them past her ruby red lips, chewing with relish, and contemplated things beyond her right to wish for. Then she joined her in repast.

_- To Be Continued -_


	3. Loosening Up

NOTE: I've been listening to a lot of IAMX as I wrote this. Who cares? No one, that's who.

Thanks again for all the follows and reviews and things! More plot threads are being interwoven, trying my best. Hope you don't mind the little break from Elsanna at the beginning of the chapter, but I thought it might go a long way toward establishing Elsa Froiland as an individual. And fun with booze! (this is a warning for those who have a problem with alcohol use in fiction; not abuse, just use! Also, trigger warning for _attempted _sexual harassment.)

* * *

Chapter 3: Loosening Up

With no safe space to retreat into, Elsa purposefully booked herself a full Saturday of exhaustive meetings and digital paperwork so as to avoid going home to Anna. Though it had only been a pair of days, already they had suffered through three awkward meals together. Ducking out as early as possible that morning had relieved her of another carb-laden breakfast and strained social interaction.

A meeting across town had her hailing an aircab, and she growled as her heel caught in the seam of the seventy-fifth-floor dock. She was already running behind, and this wasn't doing much to improve her mood. Finally, she was seated in back of the cab.

"Where to?" asked the swarthy man in the flatcap.

"Aurora and Natural Bridge," she sighed as she pressed her thumb to the plate in the center of the backseat. Recognising her identity and checking her bank balance was above the minimum amount, they were off.

As she tried to relax, she looked out over the city below. So many people darting to and fro, going about their busy little lives. Most of them would be entirely forgotten once they had passed on by all but their own families. In the long run, she supposed that was more important than amassing personal wealth and how many cars you had cooling in the lot below.

_Not that I'm even using any of them, _she chuckled ruefully. It would have taken even longer to ride the elevator all the way down and retrieve one, then fight her way through the congested Arendopolis ground-traffic. Nope, the skyway was reserved for the affluent and the hurried.

Elsa tapped on the smooth white surface of her bracelet with her opposite thumb and it shimmered to change to a touchscreen, displaying the time and a handful of small options. She tapped one, and a keyboard appeared, glowing along the length of her forearm. As she typed, her words hung in the air above her wrist:

_Sven, pls check conversions US-Swiss-UK. Shuffling could be key._

Once the message was sent, the keyboard disappeared. A few more taps to check any incoming messages; none worth responding to. She thumbed it again and it resumed its milky-white appearance.

As she disembarked on the landing deck of Westerguard Incorporated's Arendopolis branch, she heard her wristphone ping and checked it. The response was a terse "got it" that sounded like Sven had his mind on other matters. The business elite never stopped working.

Several clipped words of conversation with a receptionist later and Elsa was waiting in a conference room with a cup of bland, tepid coffee. How much extra water did they add to the bilgewater to make it so inoffensive that two-year-olds could drink it?

"Miss Froiland?"

At that, she glanced up to see a large man with his sleek black hair drawn back in a ponytail striding across the side of the room, e-valise dangling from one hand while the other extended in greeting.

"Mr. LeGume," Elsa replied as she took it.

"Please," he muttered as he raised her hand to his lips and gave her knuckles the barest brush with his lips. The recoil in her gut was far more pronounced than the one she displayed outwardly. "Gaston."

"Gaston, then," she grunted as she practically yanked her hand from his loose grip. Immediately seating herself at the table, she clasped her hands and rested them on her now-crossed legs and said, "So… what can North Mountain do for you?"

More than a little surprised that she had cut to the chase, LeGume straightened his tie and sat in the seat next to hers. Annoyance flared; it would have been more polite for him to sit _across _from her. Being a senior executive in charge of intermediary relations, he should have known better by now.

"Okie-dokie," he drawled as he made himself comfortable, one elbow draped on the table's surface. "Toasty Togs. Are we gonna do this, or are we gonna do this?"

"You tell me. The product sells itself, but I'd hardly call it a lucrative venture for us to acquire it from you. Care to sweeten the pot? Lower your asking price? We have to allow for overhead expenses."

He waved a hand carelessly. "Overhead, schmoverhead. This is a steal and you know it."

"If it's a steal, why are you leaving your valuables out in the open?"

"Hah!" he laughed heartily, small eyes glinting. "You don't pull punches, do you? Read up on you before this meeting, asked around. They don't call you 'The Glacier' for nothing."

A sickly flutter went through her stomach at that term. The _Glacier. _She rarely made reckless, blind attacks, preferring to take her time. Her slow and steady progress had flattened untold businesses and investors, cold and unavoidable, remorseless. Or so the outside world perceived. Of course she had remorse, of course she considered the human factor. Letting the world bear witness to her misgivings would only weaken her resolve, let the chinks in her armour show. _Don't let them in, _she always reminded herself when the elderly head of a privately-held company that had thrived for half a century found himself signing over his legacy to her. _Don't let them see your heart. All they need to know is that your will is immovable and their day is done._

"Right," was all she said to the man. Her opponent.

"And they call me 'The Huntsman'. Do you know why?"

"Because you smell of elk musk?"

"Because I strike while the iron is hot," he went on as if she hadn't spoken. "This Togs company is quaint on its own, but we don't really have the resources to do anything spectacular with it. Folding it into your other winter gear interests, however…"

Elsa rolled her eyes as slightly as she could manage. "Yes, yes, that's why we're having a meeting. But what do you _really _get out of this deal?"

"Capital. There are a few other interests we'd like to pursue - and fast - and we can't seem to free up any assets in a less, uh, sacrificial manner. So, we have to trim the fat." He winked. "Not that you have to worry about that much."

_Ugh, _she thought wearily. _He thinks he's charming._

"But I assume if you came all this way, you're at least considering making an offer. Let's talk figures."

A few minutes crawled by as they played conglomeration chess, each trying to put the other in check. When all was said and done, it was very honestly a tie; neither company profited a great deal, but it was still a beneficial agreement.

"Done deal, then," Gaston said as he tapped a few details into his e-valise's touchscreen and slid it to her. "Look it over and thumb it and we'll be on our way."

One of her eyebrows raised. "You weren't going to CC me a copy? For shame, Mr. Huntsman."

"Oops," he said with what sounded like genuine chagrin as she added her address into the "TO" field. "My mistake."

"Uh-huh." _Not bloody likely. _"All looks in order… except this clause here. Not kosher, it needs to be at least a week."

At that, he stood and leaned over her shoulder to get a look at where she indicated. "That's standard."

"It's laughable. Shall I, or do you need to have your hands on it personally?'

"Use your hands however you want," he purred in her ear. She stiffened, but did not otherwise react; this was nothing new. For all of society's decades of progress, she was still a woman in a so-called 'man's world', and putting up with the occasional innuendo was the cost of living her lifestyle. Unfortunately.

"There," she sighed once she had corrected the offending subsection. "I'll thumb this if we're through tweaking."

"The contract? Sure." That one was harder to ignore, but he didn't make any other overt move, so she merely pressed her lips together and pressed her thumb to the pad. A blink and a chirrup and her signature was on the line. He reached forward to do the same… intentionally brushing against her hand.

"Listen," he sighed heavily as he signed the document. "This was pretty much my whole workday; I mean, it's Saturday, right? After this, we could-"

"Sorry to disappoint, but I have an armload of spreadsheets to page through waiting for me back at the office," she said briskly as she tapped her wristcomp to check the time - and to be sure she had actually received a copy of the contract. She didn't trust this swaggering douche's valise any further than she trusted his unwarranted advances. Once she had seen his name in her inbox, she sighed and tapped it opaque again. "Perhaps another time."

At that he laughed exasperatedly. "You really are frigid, aren't you?"

"Not yet, I'm not. Now, kindly remove your hand from my shoulder."

He did, backing off with a sigh. "You're worse than Belle in accounting. Just trying to bring a little fun to an otherwise dull afternoon. Is that against the law?"

"Actually, it is in this setting, technically speaking. Now, if we're quite through here?" Her strides took her briskly toward the door, but Gaston was in her way when she reached it.

"Wait, wait," he stalled, an indulgent smile on his lips. "Listen. I really want to get to know you better, I… like what you have to offer. Just went about it the wrong way, I guess. Give me another shot?"

"I didn't want to give you the first one! Move, please."

His beady eyes darkened. "You don't have to be such an uppity skirt about this. We can have a civil conversation, you know."

"Your definition of civility seems to be at odds with mine. Our business together is concluded, and as I've said, there are a lot of-"

"Just tell me what it is about me you don't like," he persisted, arms folded over his barrel chest. "Get me off your back, it's that easy."

Elsa tried valiantly to ignore the tiny pinprick of dread welling up in her stomach. She didn't want it to be real, to have to acknowledge its existence. "Your inability to take no for an answer. Which I hope doesn't extend beyond business."

Suddenly, the brute pressed what he assumed was an advantage. "I'd never do that. But I can't let you out of my sight without making my case, here. Blondie, you are… absolutely drop-dead gorgeous," he half-laughed as his eyes raked the shape of her body through her grey suit, "and I don't get many complaints. Together, we could make 'a good time' seem like a bad one, I think."

"Subtlety is not your strong suit, is it?" she said, fighting to control her voice from shaking. Whether from fear or anger, she couldn't be certain. "Not. Interested. I'm through warning you. Let me out of this conference room."

For the first time, Gaston became truly angry - and it was an ugly transformation. A vein stood out in strong relief on his neck, another at his temple, and his jaw clenched so tightly it took on a different shape. "You're not such hot shit, you know. So what if you're CEO? I'll be running this place inside of two years, and then my portfolio will be worth _twice _yours. What gives you the right to act like I'm not good enough for you to even go out on one little lunch?"

"Whether or not you're 'good enough' is moot. If I'm not interested, then all that's left for you to do is accept defeat with grace - or don't, and see what happens."

With a growl, his hand shot out and clamped around her upper arm. "Listen here, _putain!_ _Nobody _talks to Gaston LeGume that way, man or woman! Now you owe me a-"

He blinked down at his own hand as he registered something was off. It felt numb. Then he noticed her free thumb and forefinger pressing into his wrist tightly.

"Pressure points," she whispered. Then the hand lashed out and struck him just below the sternum, and he crumpled to the carpeting. "There's plenty more where that came from. Now, can I expect an apology, or would that just be entirely ridiculous?"

"You… that w-was… how did…?"

Elsa laughed at his inability to speak, pushing him with the very lightest touch so that he teetered sideways into the wall. "You won't even have a bruise, so don't worry about lasting health and safety. Just worry about what may happen the next time I hear you making a 'power play' like this one again." For good measure, she leaned down and whispered into his ear, "That _includes _your Belle in accounting."

"S-so- so c-cold…"

"You'll feel that way for a bit," she said unconcernedly. "But soon enough, you'll be back to full brutish capacity. More's the pity. Pleasure doing business."

Every last lingering vestige of fear having evaporated in the wake of her burning pride, Elsa stepped over his leg and made good her escape.

~ o ~

The hour was late when she pushed her way into the apartment, so weary she didn't even carry her shoes into her room, leaving them just inside on the rug. Her suit was halfway off when she heard a knock at the bedroom door.

"Yes?"

"Hey," Anna said as she pushed inside. "So I was thinking about how many-"

"ANNA!"

The younger girl squeaked at the outburst, taking in the way Elsa's arms were crossed over her bra. "What, what?!"

"I'm undressing!" Elsa hissed, all trace of weariness gone. "What do you mean, 'what'?!"

"You say that like I've never seen a naked girl before," Anna laughed in relief, all tension leaving her bare shoulders. The mint-green camisole left very little to the imagination, which was echoed in the boxer shorts that completed her current attire. "Get an eyeful of one in the mirror every morning, y'know!"

"Yes," Elsa stuttered, clearing her throat as she hurriedly pulled on the robe she had already draped over her bed. "W-well, I'm a bit…" _A bit what? What are you going to say? How much shall you reveal tonight? _"…shy."

Anna's gleefully amused expression softened, though now she looked like a kindergarten teacher listening to one of her students explain their favourite cartoon. "Aww… okay, I'm sorry, I'll do better."

"Fine. Now, erm, what was it you wanted?"

But the girl was frowning now. "You seem really tired and stressed. What happened?"

"Why should you think anything happened?"

"Come on, don't be like that. This isn't just paperwork fatigue, you're, like…" She let out a quiet laugh. "If I knew you better, I'd probably think you were upset about something."

"But you _don't._"

The silence stretched on for a long moment as Elsa slid off her trousers underneath the robe and kicked them into the corner. Normally, she'd fold them and place them neatly in the dirty clothes hamper, but she was too focused on Anna's temperament.

"I don't," Anna whispered. "I'm sorry, I… yeah, I'm just gonna…"

And then she was gone, leaving Elsa alone in her room to change.

When she emerged twenty minutes later, more properly covered in violet silk pyjamas, Anna was getting herself a glass of water. She shot Elsa a bashful smile when she noticed her approach, then made for her room.

"Alright, wait," the older woman sighed in defeat. "You don't have to scurry away like a frightened mouse."

"I don't?" Anna asked blandly. "You made it pretty clear if I said anything more, you were gonna bite my head off."

"I was never going to bite your head off." She wanted to bury the hatchet without revisiting the issue that had caused her to chop down Anna's happiness-tree in the first place. "Come now, you just… push a bit much sometimes. I'm not accustomed to that."

"Expressing concern isn't 'pushing'!" Anna blustered with a frown.

"But I don't _need _you looking after me," Elsa said wearily, massaging her temples with her fingertips. "Honestly, it makes me feel like an invalid!"

Another silence, this one heavier and more oppressive, as if the world were waiting for something to give. Elsa rounded the corner and pulled a dark brown bottle from the cupboard, snagging a small glass along the way.

"Oh, y-" But one glare silenced the redhead's protests. Once the wine glass was half-full, she cleared her throat. "C-can I have some?"

"By all means," Elsa sighed as she retrieved a second glass and filled it to the same level. Anna made a small, frightened squeak when she saw how much liquor was in her own vessel. "What?"

"Umm…"

"You've never had so much as a drop before, have you?"

"I have," Anna hedged. Elsa looked up into her soft blue-green eyes in disbelief, and her freckled cheeks reddened. "N-not hard liquor, but I drank! In college!"

"_Beer,_" Elsa said snidely as she stared into the dark amber liquid. "Or perhaps a daiquiri?"

Pouting, she grabbed the glass and downed her serving in two successive gulps. This would have been impressive if not for the hacking fit that assailed her a few seconds later.

"Easy," Elsa chuckled as she rubbed the girl's back, trying not to grin at the redness and strain around her eye sockets. "Shhh, just take deep breaths through your nose… swallow again."

Finally, Anna had herself under control and she wiped her eyes. "Whew! God, what the hell _is _that?"

"Cognac. Napoleon-grade cognac, in fact; you're welcome."

"Why? Is that special or something?"

"Depends. Does $800 per bottle count as special?"

Anna started coughing again, and Elsa mentally kicked herself. She was trying to impress the young exec. Why? Already, they were in her posh apartment, she'd seen the state of her office, the quality of her suits. It wasn't gracious to flaunt her wealth. So what was the purpose in it?

_I know the purpose, _a dark corner of her mind insisted. _I just don't want to admit what it is._

"It was a gift from a Chinese investor," Elsa went on, trying to laugh it off. "No one ever comes over to share it with me, it was just gathering dust."

"You could at least have-" another cough "-have told me that before I _snorted _it!"

Elsa was already tipping the bottle toward Anna's wine glass, still laughing, but then she hesitated. "You… wouldn't want any more, would you? Not after that reaction."

"Bring it on," she said bravely, though her eyes were trained on the bottle as if it were going to snap at her. When she saw only a tenth of the liquor she'd been given before, she prodded, "What's the matter? I can take it."

"You'll take the time to _appreciate _it this go," Elsa ordered her. "Now… watch me."

She held her own glass up to her nose, inhaling its nutty aroma, the hint of vanilla. Anna reflected her actions, though her nose wrinkled slightly. _Lightweight, _Elsa thought bemusedly. Then she tipped the glass and drew the tiniest mouthful into her lips, watching Anna do the same… _Stop staring at her lips, you obvious twit._

But as Anna lowered her glass, pink tongue flicking out to rescue the tiny droplets of fine brandy from her delicate upper lip, Elsa continued to stare, too focused on not allowing the view to form any connecting thoughts to be able to tear her gaze away.

"Wow," the lips sighed, forming a tiny "O" at the end of the simple word. Then they puckered inward slightly to form another word. "What?"

Forcing her eyes up to Anna's now, she raised an eyebrow and suppressed her guilty conscience. "Opinions?"

"It's… yeah, I'm still not a big fan of alcohol at all, anyway, but that's… smooth? Is that a thing? And it's got a weight to it that's nice, warmth."

"Lovely," Elsa replied with a smirk. "There may be hope for you, Snowman."

Anna giggled, then let out a tiny squeak. "Oh! I almost forgot, I got you something - hang on, I'll be right back!"

And off she flounced. Left to herself for a moment, Elsa passed a hand over her forehead to check if she was perspiring; so far, so dry. Taking a few cleansing breaths, she ingested half her remaining cognac in one swift draught, only savouring the aftertaste. Anything to calm her twitching nerves.

_How is she _doing _this to me? _she demanded internally as she set the glass down with a louder clink than she meant to. _It's been quite a while, indeed, but… is that any excuse for drooling? My composure is unravelling over some ginger from the poor side of the NASDAQ! What's the cause? More importantly, what's the point?!_

"Got it!" Anna called out before rounding the corner. "It's not a big thing, but here."

Hastily smoothing her features into an impassive mask again, she looked up to see Anna holding out a small box. "That's… one of yours?"

"The Snowman Build-A-Bird," she confirmed as Elsa took it. "Not quite the mouse, that's kindergarten stuff, but it's not in the league of our pro series, either."

"Intermediate-level amateur robotics. Cheers."

"N-not that I don't think you can handle the pro level!" Anna laughed nervously, twiddling the hem of her cami as she spoke. "Obviously, you're some kind of freaking entrepreneurial genius! Just didn't know if you'd ever put one together or not, so, um…"

"I haven't, actually," Elsa admitted as her fingernail slit the tape holding the box closed and began to unpack the components. "Hmm… sell a lot of these, do you?"

"Tons. They're the only model we can't keep stocked sometimes. Well, except for the Executive Hedgehog; we usually get a run on those before Christmas and on Administrative Professionals' Day."

"Where… does this bit go?"

Anna edged closer, looking over Elsa's forearm, then smiled. "Um, you have to plug that tab in first."

"Like this?"

"No, more like…" And Elsa felt her heart fly into her throat when Anna's hands slid over her own, moving them into position. "There."

Willing herself to remain calm, she breathed, "Easy, hard as it looks."

"It looks hard?" Anna laughed, those warm hands still teasing her flesh. "Most people think it looks _too _easy. That's half of our customer complaints; we make it look like it takes _no _effort, so even though it's… pretty simple, they still have… what, what is it?"

The mistake was building from the base of Elsa's spine, rocketing up her ribcage and toward her solar plexus. Around the time she felt it hit her larynx, she turned her head just in time to clear her throat and whisper, "Nothing. Just… you're a very patient and gentle teacher."

_That was too close. Curse you, cognac!_

"Aww," Anna cooed as she dropped her hands away. "Am not."

"You're patient enough with me, even though I've been behaving like a spoiled trust fund baby ever since I met you. It speaks volumes to the quality of your character, Anna."

A few seconds passed in quietude as Elsa tinkered with the simple tech. Realising this, she looked up to see a slight rouge in her flatmate's cheeks. When she raised an eyebrow at this, Anna only shrugged and looked away. "I… don't think you've ever complimented me before."

That caught her off her guard. "Haven't I?"

"Well, you said my pancakes were good, but…"

"That's unfortunate." Another mistake was building, and faster, hotter. She contained the damage as best she could, but not entirely. "Because you seem to be a very capable, beautiful, vital young woman. That ex of yours is a shortsighted prick, you ask me."

"What?" she half-laughed, cheeks reddening further. "Did you say he's a _prick?"_

"Sorry, am I unaware of some shining quality of his that you've left out?"

"Oh, no way, he's fresh out of those!" They both laughed at that before Anna yelped, "Hey, don't do that, you'll break it!"

Her hands were just in time to save Elsa from snapping a fragile joint in two, prying the blonde's bony fingers apart with her own gently-tapering ones. The flush building up Elsa's neck continued into her ears and face this time, and she cursed herself for not focusing on the task.

"Blast," she swore at herself. "Nearly ruined it. You gave this to me, and I nearly…"

"It's fine," Anna snorted. "You know we make hundreds of these every day, right? I could give you six more on Monday, no sweat."

"But I want _this _one to work, because it was your gift to me! Why can't I just…" Frustrated, she set the pieces down before she crippled them after all, gripping the counter and trying to breathe as evenly as possible under the circumstances.

"Hey," Anna soothed, touching her arm lightly. "You're really upset - your face is all red."

"It is not."

"Maybe… I should have waited until you were sober," Anna chided herself. "Wow, good call, Snowman; ask somebody to handle delicate robotics under the influence. Sounds like a recipe for success, huh?"

"Don't blame yourself - and don't blame the alcohol, it's…" Barely able to deflect her thought patterns, she said, "I'm just no good with this sort of activity. Building things. Never was."

At that, Anna had to scoff. "Seriously? You built a huge multinational company! That looks pretty damn good to me!"

Elsa's eyes were fastened onto the hand on her arm, trying to swim through the morass that was her mind and find the words that had to do with their conversation. "Maybe… but I… don't have anyone to share it with. And I can't even put together a gift from a girlfriend. All I'm good for is crunching figures and… and cannibalising other people's financial welfare to fuel my evil corporation. Success in business, failure as a human being."

As Anna rubbed her arm slowly in sympathy, part of what she had said came rocketing to the forefront of her thoughts again: _girlfriend_. It had been a small slip, and luckily one that had a double-meaning. Even so, things like that were going to get harder to explain if she kept saying them.

"Hey-"

"Perhaps I ought to go to bed."

Anna pulled her hand away, and Elsa stole a glance at her face. The tiny lines at the corner of her luminous eyes betrayed both concern and confusion. "But it's only… what, maybe nine o'clock?"

"I'm… not feeling terribly energetic."

Anna squirmed, then passed a hand over her own forehead. "Whoa… okay, so I think that booze just kicked in, heh." Then she gulped. "Um… I have an idea. Wanna chill out on the couch for a while?"

"No, I-"

"Don't be all anti-social!" she chided, tugging at her upper arm. "Not when you're starting to open up and stuff! Come on, just… we can watch Netflix or something."

At that, Elsa almost laughed aloud but realised it would seem insulting at the last possible second. "Oh, I'm not much for television."

Rolling her eyes, Anna began tugging her toward the living room. "It's not about what we're watching, it's about having it in the background as a conversation piece. Have you ever seen 'True Stories Of Tennis Stars'?"

"True… what?"

"So maybe I only first checked it out because I play, but it's really fascinating. Here, where's your remote?"

The CEO perched herself on one end of the couch, struggling to keep her gaze from the long, enticing stretches of thigh scurrying about the room as their owner searched for the controls. Due to this, it took her a long time to remember that her television was voice-activated, and even longer to figure out that telling Anna this would save her a lot of trouble.

_No way this can go wrongly, _Elsa thought for the thousandth time while her roomie settled in next to her on the couch, legs curled under herself and biting the corner of her lip as the show began. _Of course not. You're only having designs on the most innocent young lamb in the corporate world. What a stand-up gal you are, Froiland; they should write songs about your moral fortitude._

_How long can I even handle this arrangement before I really do ruin everything?_

_- To Be Continued -_


	4. Quarterly Projections

NOTE: Why on earth did this take so long? It came easily enough to me this morning. Oh, well. Thanks everyone who's been patiently waiting for an update! I promise a lot more twists and turns are waiting in the coming chapters… I won't spoil anything, but there will be intrigue, betrayal, exotic locations, and- okay, yes, eventually some semi-graphic Elsanna action, but I'm still going to keep this one under T! If you want the porn, try some cake! -canned laughter-

And I'm sorry this one's a little short, but the stopping point was so natural I had to use it. See you soon!

Jessex

* * *

Chapter 4: Quarterly Projections

An elbow to the face woke Elsa with a start.

_OW, _she greeted the day. _Well, that's even less fun than one would expect. _Yawning, she reached up to move the elbow, then rubbed her eyes blearily.

Then she turned to stone.

_Whose elbow…?_

"Hmnm," Anna cooed quietly as she rolled over, snuggling against Elsa's side again before stilling, not having woken even the slightest bit.

_Oh._

Fighting down the rising wave of panic, Elsa slowly rewound her memories of the night previous. Drinking, yes, there had been drinking. Watching that tennis documentary, swapping war stories of the boardroom… working on the Build-A-Bird… talking about pets and family, about Anna's holiday in New Zealand… and after that? Nothing.

_Alright, _she thought frantically. _This doesn't have to mean what it appears to mean. We simply… fell asleep, no thanks to the effects of cognac. In fact, if you'd stop overreacting to everything for a pair of breaths, you'd realise how completely innocent it all is. How innocent Anna is._

That was beginning to work, even though her heart rate was still elevated from the nearby warmth of her toned young flatmate. Toned? How did she even know that?

_Because I can see a stretch of abdominal muscles peeking out from between top and shorts, that's how. Because I can feel her thighs against one of mine, her back under my palm. Christ, how do I get myself into these predicaments?_

Turning her eyes to the ceiling, she tried to ignore Anna's more-than-comfortable presence and sort through her own thoughts. She was a friend, and temporarily a business contact until this whole Consortium unpleasantness was behind them. She was also several years younger, and by all accounts had not a gay bone in her body. To her, this would simply be a "slumber party", as most giggly straight girls liked to call them.

_Innocent little dolphin, _she thought again as she stared down at the freckled nose gently snoring against the lapel of her pyjamas. One of Elsa's hands raised and flitted through her ruddy fringe fondly. She knew the gesture was overly familiar, she knew it had connotations beyond what she intended, but for some reason, she had to do it. Because she might not get another chance?

_Because she deserves someone to show her physical affection. Even if it's just this._

"Mmmhh," Anna sighed happily from within her dreamland. "Hans, don' go…"

It took a powerful effort of will to keep from clenching her fist in Anna's hair. _Hans._ The man had not only left such a perfectly charming woman, he had left her a pauper. Perhaps he had his own reasons, but she couldn't imagine they justified squeezing every last cent from his ex-wife.

_Bastard, _she growled inwardly as she pressed her lips to Anna's forehead consolingly. _Regardless of the circumstances that led to divorce, she didn't deserve that. Least of all her._

Anna's hand clenched against Elsa's stomach, tugging the fabric as she shifted her position higher. Then hot, desperate lips were pressing into her cheek.

Elsa's mind went blank. Anna was kissing her face. Not just a light, friendly peck, but with heat, with intent to empassion the recipient. Elsa felt her hand fall between Anna's shoulder blades, and the younger exec cooed at her touch, mouth working slowly back until it captured Elsa's earlobe, kneading it and drawing it in.

Instantly, her heart rate skyrocketed as she clutched Anna tighter to herself, a dark heat pooling in her stomach. Already, she was thrilling to this turn of events, drinking it in and delighting in it. If things didn't take a less-romantic turn very soon, her urges would awaken fully. Then what?

_Then what?_

It was then that Anna's hand drifted up and gently palmed her left breast. And at the same time Elsa felt flames of heat burning in her face and other areas, Anna's movements ceased entirely.

"Hmmh?!"

Elsa froze solid, listening and watching Anna's reactions. The redhead drew back, eyes blinking sleep away as rapidly as she could, brows knitting as she saw the wetness on the ear before her. Still unsure of what to make of that, she looked down at her hand.

"Anna…" Elsa began. _I can explain. This isn't what it looks like. I didn't start anything, I swear. I'd never take advantage of you. _A million excuses tumbled over each other in her mind.

"Wha…?" She gave the tit another light squeeze, as if to make sure it were real.

"ANNA!"

That did it. All remaining drowsiness was gone in a flash, leaving Anna looking unpleasantly surprised to find herself groping the CEO.

"OH!" she gasped, drawing her hand back to her own chest as she sat up more fully, staring at Elsa's assets. "Oh my- _what?! _How did we- God, I'm so sorry, why was I-?"

"It's alright," Elsa sighed, face still smouldering. Other places were, too, if she let herself think about it. Which she wouldn't. "You were having… a dream, I think."

"I thought you were Hans!" she croaked, clearing her throat as she passed a hand over her eyes, giving her head a shake and staring toward the blinds covering the windows on the other side of the room. "You were warm, and I felt so safe, and it was… it was almost like it was before he…"

Hard as it was for her at that moment, Elsa laid a calming hand on Anna's forearm. "You don't n-need to explain, I heard you call his name. Really."

"But he's not my husband anymore," she groused, looking more exhausted by the thought than sad. Evidently their marriage had been dissolved a reasonable amount of time ago that she wasn't still grief-stricken, but pain like that never truly vanished. "Why do I keep… and _wow, _I think I slobbered on your ear!"

Elsa shrugged shyly. "A fine way to wake up, under other circumstances. I'm fine."

At that, Anna let out a little nervous laugh. "Are you? Geez, I'm sorry. Okay. Wow, how much did we even drink last night?"

"Not a lot, but more than is usual for either of us." Elsa made sure to raise her eyes from the tiny belly button peeking from within her muscled stomach, but the stiffness in the centers of her breasts didn't help matters much so she quickly progressed on to her flushed face. "Er… well. So good morning, roomie." _Try for brevity._

"Um… can I say something crazy?" She fidgeted. "Your ear is soft."

"What?"

"Nothing!" she half-giggled, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear as her eyes gazed directly over Elsa's head, unable to meet her eyes. "What am I even doing right now?"

"Your lips are softer." When Anna's entire frame stopped moving even the barest inch, Elsa cleared her throat and went on, "So, er, we're up, we might as well get breakfast of some sort going."

"Hmm? Oh, y-yeah."

_She looks so confused, _Elsa realised all at once. _As in… _confused. _Should I say something? Should I just let her stay confused, maybe leading her to- no. That was selfish, Elsa Froiland. You're not going to start _grooming _her for something she might not want. Let her come to it on her own._

With that needy little thought, she shook herself, wispy white bangs falling into her eyes. _Come to it on her own?! She shouldn't be doing that at all! You barely know her! A few days, and an awkward few days, at that! Pull yourself together, woman! Time to feign innocence. You remember what it was like having innocence, right? A far, _far _distant memory, you lecherous old hag?!_

"Something the matter?"

Elsa blinked. "Eh? Oh, I- I'm fine. You?"

"Sure!" Anna piped up, smiling a little too wide, blue-green eyes bright with something not unlike fear. "Why wouldn't I be? I mean, just because… no, I'm dandy! Hunky dory! Fit as a fiddle!"

Grimacing at the forced cheer in Anna's response, Elsa took her hand between both of hers. Earnestness bled through into her voice, not at all feigned or exaggerated. "If you want to talk about anything…" _Too blunt; soften that question._ "About Hans, or anything… else, we can."

"It's fine!" Anna squeaked, then closed her eyes for a few seconds to compose herself. When she reopened them, she almost looked like her normal, cheery self. "Um, what do you want for breakfast? I feel like I could eat a horse."

Elsa studied her for a moment as her face finally began to fade to its normal hue, then smirked. "How do you feel about bagels?"

~ o ~

Being that it was Sunday, Elsa took them down into the garage and unpacked her sleek silver BMW from mothballs. Anna was suitably impressed, gushing over how gorgeous it was, the bovine-safe cloned-leather upholstery, the state-of-the-art navigation interface. A few taps of her fingertip later and they had a route mapped to one of Elsa's favourite coffee houses (not that she couldn't find her way there blindfolded) and gently-pulsating ambient downtempo playing through the speakers.

"You really are like a queen of the business world," Anna sighed contentedly as she ran a hand over the dashboard.

"Queen?" Elsa laughed. "Hardly. Queens can just sit back and let her subjects do all the work. If I tried that, I'd be bankrupt - or ousted - within a month."

"So, um… about this morning…"

Elsa willfully controlled her reactions as she rolled up the exit ramp and merged into the busy Arendopolis traffic. "Yes?"

"I'm really sorry," Anna began slowly, picking at the knee of her blue jeans. She'd gone decidedly bohemian due to the casual nature of their outing. "For the whole, uh, making out with your ear. Thing. That happened."

"Don't worry about it," Elsa said flatly.

"But that's not right! For me to pull something like that? Maybe I was unconscious, sure, but you were nice enough to take me in, and- and all I gave you in return is a lobe-hickey!"

Elsa laughed at the term, partly out of nerves and partly because it was so silly. "It's not as if it felt bad, Anna. Just… unexpected. I'm sure we'll both live through this little misstep. And let's not forget the Build-A-Bird, and a home-cooked breakfast. You've given me more than you realise."

Anna seemed as if she wanted to say more on the topic but wasn't sure how, or if it was the wisest course of action. Finally, she nodded a little and sat back, worrying at whatever bone of discontent was lodged in her thoughts.

When they reached Oaken Grounds and pulled into a spot someone was just vacating, Elsa quickly thumbed the parking meter and strode inside leaving Anna to trail behind, taking in the cheery, hand-painted sign over the door and the ageing brick edifice.

"How long has this place been here?" she asked in a lower voice as they took their place in queue.

"Someodd fifty years, I'm sure," Elsa muttered, breathing in the heady scent of brewing coffee and fresh baked goods. "Wouldn't trade it for all the Starbucks in North America."

"It's so cute!" Anna giggled, staring at the bric a brac hanging from the walls and ceiling, all positioned so as to be interesting but not intrusive. "It's cute and kitschy. It's both of those."

"Indeed. Right, then…" Elsa cast around for a topic of discussion. "You seem to be even less busy on the weekend than I."

"Oh, I was plenty busy yesterday afternoon," Anna sighed. "Going over the books and whatever. Yeah, I have a guy who does that, but you gotta keep your hands in the mix if you don't want it to run out from under you." Then she dipped her head slightly as they moved forward in line a few paces. "But you know that. Geez, I'm sitting here trying to teach _you _about business."

"You aren't. You're telling me how yours is run." When Anna didn't look up, a powerful desire to sweep her into a hug washed through Elsa… and was gone as quickly. She settled for a firm hand on the slightly-shorter woman's shoulder. "We are going to sort this disaster, you know."

"I know. I know we are, I'm… it's fine. We're up."

"Oh!" Elsa was startled to find herself staring at the bright-eyed young man with the buck teeth. "Yes. Hi, Max."

"Yello," Max said cheerily. "The usual, Miss Froiland?"

"Yes. Actually… I'll take a side of lox, as well."

He blinked in mild surprise, but recovered quickly, thumbing the display in front of him to add lox to the order he had predicted. "Great, lox, gotcha. And for your friend here?"

When Anna shrugged uncomfortably, blushing at the star-struck look she was getting from their server, Elsa stepped in. "Add an everything, a blueberry and a plain to my order, and… a grande pumpkin chai latte, made with soymilk. Chocolate soymilk."

She waited with her pulse in her throat for Anna to make any sort of complaint about the order… and she didn't. Instead, Anna was looking at her with a sort of enthrallment that made Elsa question everything she had ever said to the young exec.

"Pumpkin-soy-mocha," Max chuckled after a moment of watching them stare at each other like fools. Then he cleared his throat after a few more such moments passed. "Whenever you're ready?"

Coming back to her senses, Elsa paid for their order, noted their number and moved aside to the pickup counter.

"What is it?" Elsa asked in an undertone.

"It's… it's not like you knew what I was going to order," Anna began hesitantly. "Except… it was perfect. It was exactly what I wanted before _I _knew what I wanted."

The warmth that crept into Elsa's cheeks refused to be held at bay, so she coughed to create an excuse for its presence. "Er… well, good then. Just somehow thought you might like my usual."

"That's your usual?"

"It is here. The office machine can't make it nearly as well, so I settle for something simpler."

Anna nodded, toying with the hem of her gauzy grey sweater. "You, um, have good taste."

_I do, _Elsa thought obscenely as she watched the soft material ripple and stretch over Anna's chest. Then she squeezed her eyes shut. _Enough, Froiland. You're not some lovestruck sorority girl._

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything." Elsa meant it. If she had asked her to make out in the corner right then, she likely would have acquiesced.

"About-"

"Two pumpkin-soy-mochas, five bagels and lox!" the stocky woman cut across Anna. They both started and hurried to take their order, retreating to a pair of tall bar stools near the wall.

A few pleasant minutes drifted by in which Anna blew across the top of her huge ceramic mug to cool its contents and Elsa spread cream cheese and lox on her poppy seed bagel. When they switched tasks at almost the exact same moment, Anna giggled and Elsa briefly hid her smile behind her mug.

"I don't even think I've ever had lox," Anna commented shyly. "I'm so culturally stunted."

"You aren't. My last girlfriend was Jewish, she raved about it to anyone who would listen. Didn't take me long before I gave in - hadn't tried it before then."

Elsa's heart plummeted into her boots. _Curse it all! I said 'my last girlfriend'. That's pretty cut-and-dry. Cat's out of the bag now._

"Mmm," Anna said distractedly as a sliver fell off into the brown paper wrapping and she grimaced at her ineptitude. "One of my gal pals - Hans's brother's wife - was into trying all kinds of new things, but she never got around to pushing this on me. Lots of other, much weirder stuff, yeah…"

_WHEW._

"Have you ever tried ceviche?"

Clearing her throat, Elsa blew on her latte once more before answering. "I haven't, no."

"Don't. I mean, I guess that's some people's idea of lunch, but I'm not one of them! They don't even _cook _it!" Her last sentence was delivered with such displeasure that Elsa laughed aloud, which made the speaker grin self-consciously. "I m-mean, who wants food poisoning from fish?!"

"That's uncooked fish there, too; lox is cold-smoked and salt-cured."

The everything bagel was halfway to Anna's mouth when she stalled, looking uncertainly between the pink mixture and Elsa's face.

"It's fine!" she giggled. "Much more dependable than citrus juice for eliminating bacteria and threat of food poisoning. You won't die from this, I promise."

"Pinky swear?"

Elsa blinked. "You what?" But then Anna's pinky was extended most of the way to her nose. When the younger woman only waited expectantly, bagel still hovering under her nose, Elsa raised her own little finger and waited for something to happen.

When Anna locked hers with Elsa's, she felt her heart rate begin climbing, her throat constrict. They now had a tacit agreement. Silly as it was, Elsa was now in some way responsible for Anna's life and well-being. Did she… like that?

Then Anna was chewing, her pinky reclaimed, and Elsa was sipping her chai, trying to collect her thoughts. _Maybe I need to stop reading so much into every little movement. These are things normal friends do. You are _making _problems where there aren't any; stop it! Take a step back. Give this some room to breathe._

"I wanted to ask you something."

A quarter of her bagel was gone and the level of her chai was an inch or so lower when Anna put that forth. Lowering her own mug, Elsa prodded, "Go on."

"About… about last night."

_Oh, God._

"Before we, um, got completely wasted," she added with a weak little laugh. "You were really upset. I know it's probably none of my business, and you can tell me to shut up anytime, but you seemed totally keyed up and- and almost sad at the same time, and you shouldn't have to feel that way if there's anything, anything at all that I can-"

"Shh, Anna, don't…" Elsa's shoulders slumped. "You're worried about me?"

Through her palm, she could feel the table shudder when Anna's sneaker kicked the leg. "Yeah."

It seemed there was nothing else for it. "The appointment I had on Saturday made some fairly… aggressive overtures. I handled it. That's all."

"Handled it? Wait… what do you mean?" Instantly, her eyes went from squinting to wide with shock. "You mean he tried to, to- oh _God, _Elsa, I'm sorry!"

"Listen," she began wearily, setting down her hot tea and staring directly at Anna. "Nothing came of it. In fact, I may have spared a great many women similar annoyance by instilling the fear of God in his heart. At least I hope I have. Really ought to give that Belle in accounting a ring to see how she's holding out against his advances…"

"I'm so sorry," Anna whispered, hands grasping hers firmly. "Nobody should have to go through that, least of all you! I mean, you're too important!"

Elsa smiled bitterly. "Doesn't matter how important I am."

"It does to me." Anna seemed to catch that in her own words and amended. "I m-mean, nobody has the right to that anyway, but if he can't respect you as a person, he should at least respect your position!"

"You're trying to make sense of his actions, love. You can't. And in the end, he wasn't really going to do anything to me; just try to use his size and bullying tactics to get me to agree to something against my better judgement. It was _far _less harrowing than it could have been."

A few seconds ticked by as Anna digested both her bagel and Elsa's words. Their palms were beginning to sweat the tiniest bit, and Elsa wished she minded it more. That would be normal of her. Instead, she had to force herself not to think about how much closer it made her feel to the spunky ginger.

_This whole breakfast outing was a mistake! It's a date! It's a sodding date, you idiot, but you're the only one who knows it! Why are you holding hands with her in a public restaurant?! Why are you thinking about your sweat mixing?! Go find some number in a club to grind against and leave this poor, innocent creature alone!_

"You have a little…"

"Huh?!" Elsa cleared her throat to rid it of the hoarseness. "I m-mean, a little what?"

Nothing could have prepared her for Anna's thumb swiping at the corner of her mouth, coming away with a tiny speck of lox. An instant later, it was in Anna's mouth.

They both stared at each other quizzically. As the seconds ticked by and the sparse crowd chattered around them, a light rouge began to creep over Anna when she realised how that might seem.

"I… well, wasting food…" Hearing her pitiful excuse, she fell silent again, thumb still resting on her chin as she waited for Elsa to react.

"You…" _You can do that to me anytime. You're perfect. You can't possibly get any cuter. _"You and, er, Hans probably got very used to doing those sorts of things, didn't you?"

The comment had been intended to put her mind at ease, let her know that lapsing into old habits was only natural when you spend several years living with someone. It had the opposite effect; Anna gulped, her eyes shooting down into her own lap as her face burned.

"B-but you're not Hans."

"I'm not, but I am living with you. You're making an unconscious substitution. Don't worry so much about it."

"Are you saying that about me making out with your ear, too?" she laughed harshly, hands crumpling her napkin now. "What about when I try to crawl in bed with you after I have a scary dream? 'No big deal, you just miss Hans'? God, how lame I am…"

_I would welcome that with open arms, Anna. _"I would welcome that with open arms, Anna." _Shit. Shit, I can't un-say that now!_

Anna looked up sharply, eyebrows shooting into her fringe as she stared. "What? I mean, you would?"

Damage control. "Sure," Elsa said with a carefully-constructed friendly smile. "Naturally, I'd be startled, but not angry. If you felt afraid, I'd be too happy to help."

_Too happy is right. Too, too happy._

"Elsa…"

And now she was crying again. Fabulous. "What, what is it?"

"You're too good to me," she whispered, trying to take quick, sharp breaths to force herself not to let the tears flow. That didn't quite work, and she dabbed at her eyes with her crumpled napkin. "It's incredible how you've only known me for a few days and you can… and you accepted me into your life, and I'm such a mess and I can't even keep my own company afloat, but you don't care about that. Where did you come from that you're so perfect?"

The only response Elsa had for that was to instantly cram as much lox-coated bagel into her mouth as was humanly possible. How unladylike.

_- To Be Continued -_


	5. Boardroom Eyes

NOTE: Slightly more serious chapter (still a LOT of fun to write, though). The plot has been building toward this anyway, but I got distracted by fluff in #4, ahaha. And this one's also short like the last one, but at least I got it out rather quickly! Thanks to a cancelled appointment yesterday, I found a bit of extra time in the afternoon to sit down with it, and lo and behold, here we are! Prepare to be bombarded with guest stars from Disney's storied past!

Jessex

* * *

Chapter 5: Boardroom Eyes

"Elsa didn't tell me you were hotter than a rib house kitchen."

The aforementioned Elsa's lip curled slightly as Anna giggled under Sven Kristofferson's dark, penetrating gaze. She had known all along that he would do this. Sven couldn't resist a cute young thing. Luckily, he was more the sort who pressed every advantage until it was clear he could not win, then accepted defeat with grace. It had been that way a few years previous when he attempted to thaw the Glacier herself. Impressed by the deftness of her rebuffs, they became fast friends, gravitating toward each other at social functions when not otherwise occupied, exchanging emails, ideas, lunches. Elsa had a very business-oriented friendship with the former linebacker whose physique stretched the seams of his tailored suits, but one more solid than any she'd ever had outside of business.

She just prayed he kept his posturing to a bare minimum. They weren't here to arm wrestle for Anna's favour.

_You're not after her favour, anyway, _she admonished herself strongly, forcing placid disinterest back into her features. _Snowman Home Robotics. This is about her livelihood. Worry about Sven's designs on her after lunch._

"A rib house kitchen, huh?" Anna managed to chuckle as she took the seat he had graciously pulled out for her on the other side of his desk. "That's… colorful."

"Sorry if my slang is kinda rural," he admitted with a shrug. "Minnesota farmland, born and raised. Go Vikings!"

"Yes, go," Elsa said pointedly. "Please."

Laughing, he pulled the chair out for her, as well, knowing she hated when he did that. "Alright, alright, down, Simba." Once she was seated and he'd pushed her in - a bit more roughly than was necessary, perhaps to make a point - he took his own seat behind the desk, straightening his translucent red tie. "Right, now I only blocked us off an hour to go over this so I guess we better get down to brass tacks. Really wish we didn't have to rush, though."

"Yeah, I bet you just love saving ridiculous little companies that manage to gum up their own works," Anna lamented.

"I do when it's for a worthy cause." His lazy smile left little room to guess at his insinuations, but he was already settling into business mode before Elsa could clear her throat. "Okay. So this Consortium pretty much has the whole deal sewn up. I'm afraid the only thing you can do now is let it happen."

"What?!" Elsa yelped. Recovering herself, she went on to say with slightly more decorum, "But… but I thought if we waylaid a few of the-"

"Nope," he told her with an apologetic shrug. "The transactions are all complete. There's one or two I got to in time, but to be honest, it wouldn't even make a dent at this point. Even had one of my guys go over this, just in case I missed something, but… no luck. Them's the breaks."

Trying to swallow around the lump of dread forming in her throat, Elsa shot a worried look at Anna… but the young redhead merely looked resigned. Licking her little pink lips, she whispered, "Okay. So… what can I do once that happens?"

"They're almost sure to keep you on as head," Sven went on, voice bereft of emotion. When he got like this, Elsa was reminded of the emergency room doctors of her youth, explaining that the most traumatic events of her life were instead just factors in the equation they charted out from injury to recovery. Cold, analytical, but not unnecessarily cruel. "You can step down, but that won't get you anywhere. Just… be amalgamated, stay in charge over what you can. Wish there was a plan B we could put in motion right now, but there isn't. Just ride it out."

"Thanks for bolstering her spirits, Sven. Knew we could count on you."

His huge hands raised to wave off her animosity. "Don't shoot the messenger, Froiland. You know as well as I do that this was a longshot. Do you have any idea how much I gave up to work on this the past few days?"

"Do tell," she grumbled dryly.

"You ever hear of Aurora?"

That stirred something in her memory, but Anna got there first, her curiosity peeking through the clouds of depression. "The supermodel-slash-pop star? Sure. 'Upon A Dream' is pretty catchy… don't really know the rest of her stuff." Then her eyes went wide. "Wait, what about her?"

"Let's just say that's a once-in-a-lifetime chance I'll never get back," he grunted, eyes drawing a bead on Elsa.

"Shut up!" Anna exclaimed, hands slamming down on her knees. "You're so full of it!"

"Oh yeah?" Grinning, he thumbed his navy blue wristphone, tapped a few icons and brought up a holographic projection. Next to a picture of the aforementioned blonde trendsetter, lines of text said, _"…and don't u even bother calling i don't have time for this bs u pig."_ He then thumbed to the next text, which was even less complimentary and had Anna letting out an affronted gasp.

"Yeah, bridge burned," he laughed as he closed the message.

"It was that New Year's Eve party, wasn't it?" Elsa asked knowingly. "When you met her." He cocked a finger-gun in her direction, and she shook her head. "Always aiming for the stars, Kristofferson."

"You know it." He leaned forward on his elbows. "Now, here's what we maybe _can _do. Work at it a while, quietly move some stock around… and blondie here might be able to reallocate the shares into her own personal accounts, pry a few loose from the hands of the asshats. It's not a short game. We're talking maybe a year, maybe even longer than that. But all you need to do is keep Snowman producing at their usual level of excellence - and I went over your portfolio, nice work, all considered - don't let them force through any huge changes in policy that could undermine what you have going, keep the board from leaning on you too hard, and the company might actually be even better when it comes through the other side of this disaster."

"Okay," Anna said quietly.

"But you _can't panic,_" he stressed. "Probably already did that, yeah, but just… stay chill. You'll get through this."

Unable to look at Anna properly at that moment, Elsa smoothed the front of her black suit jacket needlessly, then adjusted her glasses and composed herself. "Very good. We'll proceed with that plan."

"We will?" Anna cleared her throat when both sets of eyes focused on her and blanched. "I m-mean, yeah, of course we will!"

"Just wish Yzma had been able to come up with something, anything," Elsa more muttered to herself than anyone as she checked her own wristphone. "But we've run out of time. She always seemed to have the magic touch…"

"Um… can I say something?"

Sven had brought up a holo-display of a spreadsheet, but he closed it immediately. "Yes?"

"Thanks, you guys. Maybe you couldn't fix all my mistakes, but you tried, and… and I'm still not sure why you're bothering, but you have no idea how grateful I am." Her lip quivered, blue-green eyes round and doleful, and Elsa found she couldn't meet those eyes without dissolving on the spot. "I w-was beginning to think nobody was left in the business world who cared about other people anymore, and then…"

Instantly, Sven was handing her a hanky. Not a tissue made from trees, but an honest-to-god monogrammed handkerchief. Elsa cursed herself for not having one of her own to proffer. "Hey, come on, it's just a setback. Those goons will get what's coming to them."

_No, they won't, _Elsa thought bitterly as she concentrated her vision on her inbox. _They never really do. But perhaps we can just stop them from getting away with this single act of villainy at the end of the day._

"I have… one more power move."

At that, Sven's ears perked up in interest as he passed Anna the carrot-orange blend she had requested; Elsa hadn't even heard her ask, she was so deep in thought. "What's that?"

"It's stupid is what it is. But I think this afternoon, we're going to try it. Even if it doesn't have the desired effect, it should still help them remember who I am." Her teeth gritted. "And that more of these sorts of tactics will _not _be tolerated. Not by half."

~ o ~

The board met every Monday at two o'clock. Their reasoning for this was that Mondays were the most productive (a lie; everyone was lethargic from their weekend on Monday, and therefore Tuesday was more productive by far), and that by two everyone had eaten lunch and would be invigorated (also a lie, as most times the weight of food made one sleepy and inattentive). Regardless of all other factors, they corralled themselves into the room with its long mahogany table and strategically-placed viewscreens every Monday afternoon to discuss North Mountain's state of affairs.

Today was no exception to this routine until Elsa flung the doors open at roughly 2:10, storming from one end of the room to the other and taking her place behind the head of the table, remaining standing instead of sitting, her white, spider-like hands perched on the table as if she were preparing to strike. Which, in a way, she was.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she began, cutting off the whispers and grumblings of her colleagues. "Let us take a moment to discuss a pet project of yours that seems to have been… neglected in our meetings."

"And what might that be?" asked Dick Weselton mildly, bespectacled eyes twinkling at her from above his bulbous snout and bushy gray moustache. "You don't even know what today's topic of discussion is. You might, if you had showed up on time today, or attended last week's meeting…"

"Last Monday, I was in Los Angeles." Her voice was full of superficial politeness. "And you know I hate conference calls."

"One thing on a long list," muttered David from across the table. He was a young hotshot they had swiped from a genetics company, known for his ruthlessness in negotiations. He was also a charmer, close-cropped beard and mischievous eyes always hinting at a secret that nobody would ever learn. His gunmetal gray Italian suit probably cost more than her BMW.

"The list grows ever longer," Elsa retorted, earning her a few chuckles from other board members. Laughing with, but not at. They'd never _dare _laugh _at _her. "However, I'm more concerned at present with this."

At that, she thumbed her wristphone, and the projector in the center of the table began showing the lists of acquisitions their consortium had made over the preceding months.

A few of them had the grace to look ashamed and lowered their eyes. Others, such as David, Dick, and even Esmeralda, were satisfied or annoyed at her discovery. But only one or two heads in the room swiveled to and fro in surprise.

_That many of them, is it?_ she thought dejectedly. _Oh, well. I ought not be surprised._

"Where… did all of this come from?" asked Doppler in his crisp, cultured tones, adjusting his round-rimmed glasses to better confirm his fears. Bless him. "Surely there has to be a miscalculation!"

"Actually, I'd say this was fairly calculated," Elsa accused flatly as she switched to another set of figures, and then another. "For quite some time."

"Enough of that," Weselton sighed, drumming his fingertips against the table impatiently. "Making a circus show out of the whole thing."

"_I'm _making a circus- your name is on the header of the Winter Consortium! You're behind all of this, you ungrateful old coot!"

There was a startled gasp at such a bald insult. Elsa had not been known for letting her temper get the better of her, even in personal matters.

"Really," he half-laughed, voice slightly thin from surprise at her anger, "I'm surprised at you, my dear. It's a very beneficial acquisition, especially in Arendopolis. Why shouldn't we pursue it?"

"You know this isn't how we conduct business dealings! It would have been more honest, more prudent and respectable, to approach Miss Snowman in person with an offer. Not snatched her family's entire legacy out from under her without so much as a warning!"

The room fell silent, save for a creak of a chair seat and the occasional cough.

"Miss Froiland," David said smoothly, hands folding under his chin, "It almost sounds as if you have a personal stake in _not _acquiring Snowman Home Robotics."

She had been expecting this one, and it did not catch her unawares. Drawing herself up, she began pacing back and forth slowly as she addressed not just David, but the board. "From the time I first found myself in charge of North Mountain, I have prided myself on dealing with all clients openly, without any need for backstabbing or under-the-table buyouts. That openness and sense of fair play is a great source of pride for me. To have it undercut by a few of my employees - _my _employees whom I believed to be above such subterfuge… it's the worst sort of slap in the face. It goes against everything I have ever believed."

"It's not that uncommon," Clayton spoke up from Esmeralda's elbow, enormous horse teeth clenched irritably. "You make us sound like remorseless assholes. Nobody's getting fired, no downsizing; we're just taking our own share of the profits they generate now. Also, with our resources, a new marketing campaign-"

"You could have _asked._ Done things the way adults do them. But you didn't, you took what you wanted from your comfortable seats up here in the boardroom. Well, no more, you armchair warriors. Miss Snowman!"

There was a ripple of dismay up and down the table as the door opened again and Anna Snowman marched up to stand beside Elsa, red hair in an ornate bun, jade green jacket-and-skirt flattering her eyes and figure equally. Clutched in her hands was her e-valise as if it were the only life preserver within a thousand miles of shore.

"Tell her what you've done, Dick," Elsa said, fighting down the urge to put unnecessary stress on the syllable that was his name. "And your plans for the company her parents founded. Tell it to her face."

"That falls to the CEO, I'm afraid," Dick sidestepped, tugging at his crisp collar.

"Oh, no," Elsa chuckled harshly. "Not this time. Not when the blame for this lies with the Winter Consortium and _not _my stamped seal of approval."

"But you did approve it! You gave the board agency-"

"I did not! I never gave the board _sole _discretion, and that is what you exercised! You deliberately hid the true nature and intent of these purchases from me, and that is unacceptable!"

They were at a stalemate. Weselton's jowls quivered in fury while Elsa glared him down, icy blue eyes zeroed in on his, fists on the table. The fact that she towered over him by several inches, even when they were both standing, did nothing to sway the odds in his favour. At long last, he harrumphed and plopped back into his chair.

"Miss Snowman," David said as he rose smoothly, straightening his suit jacket and buttoning it in one smooth motion. "Allow me to offer my most sincere welcome."

"Welcome?" she gasped out, too startled at this shift in direction to maintain her composure. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"To North Mountain. You'll still be in charge of Snowman, won't you? After all, your name is on the building."

At that, she sputtered for a moment before clearing her throat. "I- well, yes, of course. I was never thinking of giving up on it, no matter what you do."

"Then I'm happy to know such a capable and enchanting young lady is among us now." And no one in the room was more surprised than Elsa when the man performed a deep bow in her direction. Except, perhaps, Anna.

"O-oh!"

"Anna Snowman, Dave Xanatos," Elsa introduced them reluctantly. He had taken all the wind out of her sails with his oily manoeuvre, and she would not forget it anytime soon.

"Just David, please."

"Okay, Just David," Anna joked feebly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Thank you. But I hope you know I'm still upset with how this played out - I wanted my company to remain autonomous."

"And it mostly will," Weselton piped up, always desperate not to be outshone by the young bucks of their herd. "You'll just be submitting a few annual reports to us, small things like that. In fact, we're sending over someone from HR to see to that for you. Nothing to worry your pretty head over."

It was all Elsa could do not to deck him for that chauvinistic comment, but she settled for exchanging an eyeroll with Esmeralda. They had both grown used to his antiquated attitudes over their many years together on the board. Then she remembered that the vivacious, olive-skinned exec was a soldier in the enemy camp and deliberately looked elsewhere.

"Good, good," David went on with his million-dollar smile. "Glad to have that unpleasantness settled; I was dreading it, to be honest. Now then, we still have the Morgendorffer merger to contend with, and I believe La Bouff wanted to go over the minutes from last-"

"Just a moment, you," Elsa snapped. "Not letting you off the hook so easily as that. A brief word about your so-called Winter Consortium."

The hush that fell over the room was so complete and strained that Elsa expected OLAF to pipe up that its audio sensors were malfunctioning and needed a system scan.

"I want it dissolved immediately."

"Really!" Weselton blustered as a few others began muttering to each other. "On the basis of what, exactly? The fact that you don't approve?"

At this, Elsa leaned heavily against the table and glared into the short-statured man's eyes, their mismatched glasses both reflecting the sunlight from the windows. "Weselton, you and I both know we could have given you a gold watch two years ago. Would you like it now, or in a few more when you've recovered all those assets you squandered on that yachting venture?"

At that, he blustered, "Y-you can't blackmail me like that!"

"How is this blackmail? You are on our payroll to look after the well-being of this company. If you're going against the ethical principles I set in place - _and expect all of you to follow,_" she aimed at the rest of the table, "then you are no longer fulfilling that role, and I will be happy to send you on to a blissful retirement in Tampa. If you can _afford _a condo in Tampa anymore."

Weselton's entire pouchy face was a blistering puce, his teeth grinding into each other as he glared daggers at the CEO. Her twin chips of ice did not fracture in the slightest, but only seemed to grow colder and more solid the longer he gazed into them. Finally, he deflated slightly and grumbled, "I'll take your opinions under advisement."

"You'll close down the consortium." It was a statement of fact, not an order or a question. He only waved a conciliatory hand, turning away from her entirely.

"Well!" Doppler exploded in a sigh. "This has been… well. Most certainly an interesting afternoon. Is anyone else a tad warm in here?"

"By the way," David continued as if he had been the last one to speak, "I wonder if you might have invited Miss Snowman out this Friday already? Seeing as how she will soon be part of the North Mountain family…"

Elsa tensed, every ounce of tempered courage leaving her like the air being let out of a balloon. Anna was already looking between the two of them curiously, not yet willing to bite the bullet and ask.

David already knew. He _knew._ Less than a year with the company and he already had Elsa Froiland figured out, was piercing into her every darkest secret. What if this Winter Consortium had been his idea from the beginning? What if he was going to eventually present a real and considerable danger to everything she was and cared for?

"I hadn't," Elsa replied blithely. "Barely given it a moment's thought myself, to be honest with you. But she needn't feel obligated."

"Obligated?" he laughed easily. "It's a ball, not a firing squad."

"Lifts and elevators," she grunted. "You call it what you want, and I'll call it what I want."

"Okay, sorry to interrupt this, um… weird thing you're doing," Anna said with a nervous laugh, "but what are we talking about, exactly?"

The smile he turned on Anna was considerably less predatory than the one he'd been aiming at Elsa a moment prior. "The North Mountain annual gala. Think of it as a company picnic, except the plates are a few hundred dollars and the proceeds go to charity."

"Really?" Her brows knitted the tiniest bit in interest. "Which charity?"

"Gifted program for public schools," Elsa supplied, much happier to be talking about this than the ball itself. "Specifically outreach, but also the programs themselves. Helps find those children who could excel if given a bit of polish, in spite of financial or familial straits."

"Any reason to pick that one over another one?"

Anna seemed very interested in that, and Elsa found herself smiling warmly in spite of herself and their surroundings. "I was lucky; my parents were well off. My potential was reached. A little girl or boy living with a single parent who can't afford proper clothes might be equally bright but stand no chance to make something of themselves. This evens the playing field."

At that, the grin that spread across the freckled face sent a flutter through Elsa that she wanted to capture, seal in a hunk of amber and keep in a prominent place in her home forever, out on display for all to see. "Everybody deserves a chance."

"Great!" When David's hands came together in a clap, everyone jumped slightly. It wasn't even a terribly loud clap. "Where shall I have my driver meet you?"

"M-meet me?" Her eyelashes fluttered, hand raising to straighten her lapel defensively. "What, are you… are you trying t-"

"You needn't bother," Elsa cut in, leaning toward David slightly. "She's on my route, I'll see she arrives in mint condition. Generous of you to offer, though."

_Take that, you womanising jackass._

"On your route?" Anna said with a blast of exasperated laughter. "But I'm…"

Elsa's glare did the trick. It silenced her, severed the chain of her following words and left them evaporating into wisps of smoke. She only hoped she could apologise for her shortness later.

"Then I will look forward to seeing what 'mint condition' looks like," David followed smoothly, only the tiniest bit derailed by the CEO's meddling. At last, he took his seat again. "Now, did you want to sit in on the rest of the meeting, Miss Snowman? Perhaps you could lend this stuffy old room some fresh perspective."

"No, thank you," she said politely, dipping her head. "I, um, I have an appointment downtown."

"I'll see you out," Elsa said calmly. "Dick, David… board." There were a few muttered salutations as she led Anna from the room, nodding and smiling at both Anita and Doppler, two of the members who hadn't been invited to undermine her authority along with the rest of the Consortium. She appreciated their moral fibre more than ever now.

"Whew," Anna gusted once they were several paces away from the doors.

"Yes," Elsa agreed. "Whew."

"Did I do okay?"

Elsa spared her a surprised look as she thumbed the button for the lift. "You what? Of course, don't be silly. You were fabulous; they were squirming in guilt at having to look into your sweet, honest face and realise that they had run roughshod over your legacy without so much as a second thought."

"Sweet and honest, huh?" Anna said with a tiny smile. "Guess there are worse things you could call my face."

_There are better things I could call it, though, _Elsa reflected wistfully. _Pages and pages and books full of them._

"Um… so when I was about to tell them I lived with you…"

Elsa nearly stumbled as she entered the elevator, grabbing at the wall for support. "Y- I… okay, yes, I did interrupt you. I'm sorry."

"Why, though? I mean, what's the big deal?"

_David knows. That impish little weasel knows. _"Could be seen as a conflict of interest, couldn't it? Me defending my flatmate's business merely because we share four walls."

Anna chewed on her lip as they descended. Elsa tried her best not to watch the slick, supple flesh give slightly under the pearly-white teeth. Tried not to think about her own teeth doing that instead. "Okay, yeah, I see your point. You didn't have to lie, though."

"Lie? You're not on my way to the ball? Because if another room in my own penthouse suite isn't en route for me, then I don't know what you would consider-"

"Okay, okay," Anna giggled with a roll of her eyes. "I guess you did tell them the truth. You just packaged it so they'd think something different."

As the doors dinged open and revealed the sparkling lobby, full of suits rushing back and forth, Elsa gestured for Anna to precede her with a wry smirk. "Miss Snowman, that's all business is, didn't you know?"

_- To Be Continued -_


	6. Game-Changer

NOTE: Sorry this one took over a week! It really shouldn't have, but it did, and for that you have my apologies. Real life problems and friends in crises partly waylaid me, but honestly? I was being lazy for the better part of this week. Then a couple of days ago, I said, "ENOUGH STALLING!" And here we are. Hope you enjoy this chapter, what with all the angst that I'm about to drop on you.

Oh, yes… it's going _down._

(Also, thanks to Stephydee89 and Catie/kissingannasfreckles for helping me title this chapter! ...and to Notsherlock for dancing. Because he really seemed to need validation for that.)

Jessex

* * *

Chapter 6: Game-Changer

"Do you know what kind of office I'll be getting, at least?"

Elsa pursed her lips as their aircab gradually drew nearer to the destination. "No, Kai, I haven't the faintest idea. Never even driven past it before."

The pudgy man adjusted the cuffs of his moss-green suit and better balanced his e-valise across his insubstantial lap. "Well, I'm not complaining. The raise in pay will suit the missus well enough." Still discomfited, an eye rested on Elsa as he asked in an undertone, as if their taxi driver might be some sort of villainous spy, "Are you sure you want to hand me off to this ragtag little company? Not that I'm sad for the opportunity to be in charge of the entire financial division - it's a feather in my cap, no doubt - but I mean… surely there are a dozen newbies who could just as easily fill that position and you'd miss them far less."

Lips twitching into a rueful smirk, she responded in kind. "I trust you to run a tight ship. More importantly, I… _trust _you."

"Eh?" His orange-hued eyebrows drew together. "You suspect someone was cooking the books?"

"Not at all. But I suspect they _could _be if I were to send someone with less moral fibre than our man Kai Hall, if you catch my meaning."

A few seconds went by as he blinked. Then he looked over his shoulder, af it to glimpse the North Mountain headquarters in their wake, though it was long gone around several corners and other skyscrapers. "No… goodness, no. Not under _your _watch, Miss Froiland!"

"Afraid so. Wasn't for lack of trying, but these things can sometimes happen."

"Mmm." To her surprise, his hand flew into his breast pocket and produced a small, translucent patch, which he removed from its nonstick backing and slapped behind his ear.

"Is… that an airsick patch?"

"It is. I feel queasy now."

Smiling warmly, she gripped Kai's arm with genuine affection. "This is why I'm sending a decent sort such as yourself, you know."

"Just wish it wasn't necessary, ma'am."

Eyes haunted, she turned to gaze out the window again while muttering, "We agree on that."

Within the next minute or two, the aircab was coming in for a landing on the pad atop Snowman Home Robotics. It was a modest building for the entire works of a company, but still dwarfed most of the other structure in the neighbourhood. There was less glass and chrome in its makeup and more stonemasonry, and some elegant gothic scrollwork added a nice touch. Elsa's heart was instantly at ease looking upon the edifice. Whoever they contracted to design their headquarters, they had chosen well.

"Elsa!" Anna gasped in some surprise as the pulse of the hover-pads and air lifters carried their ride off into the skyway. Her windswept ginger locks were fluttering free today, and as the currents buffeted them Elsa's hands ached to run her fingers through them, to smooth each strand back into place and hold them fast. "Wh-what are you doing here? I thought- well, wasn't I supposed to meet Mr. Hall today?"

"You were," she called as the racket subsided to the dull roar of Arendopolis's bustling workforce. "Just thought I'd pop 'round and see where you perform robotic miracles."

And then Anna's arms were around her, and her knees turned to water. Only Kai's presence forced her to remain mostly rigid, hand briefly patting Anna's shoulder. If he had been absent, she might have done something both of them would have regretted.

"Sorry!" Anna burst out as she drew back, grinning sheepishly. "That was pretty rude, what's wrong with me? Nice to meet you, Mr. Hall, thanks for coming!"

"OH!" he gasped out as she began pumping his hand up and down vigorously. "Y-yes, of course, Miss Snowman! It's a pleasure!"

"Maybe you can turn us into a cash cow again!" she joked as she quickly led them to the elevators. "From what Elsa tells me, you're a genius accountant! Crap - excuse me a second, I have to talk to Donalds before he leaves - _Donalds!"_

As she dashed toward the man in the blue suit who was approaching a waiting aircab near the corner, Kai turned knowing eyes toward Elsa.

"Don't even start."

"Another redhead, ma'am?"

"I told you not to start," she growled warningly.

"I haven't said a thing!" he protested robustly, hands raised in defence. "But if I _were _to say something, it would merely be that it's about time. How many years has it been since y-"

_"Drop it." _When Kai pursed his lips and did the little lock-and-key motion in front of them, she rolled her eyes. "It's alright, and I didn't mean to snap at you, but… she's right over there!"

"And?" Then his eyes lit with understanding and his expression turned sympathetic. _"Ah. _Sorry, but the way she hugged you, I assumed- well, I am sorry."

"Quite alright," she reiterated begrudgingly.

"Okay!" Anna gasped out as she jogged back over to them. Somehow, the combination of teal blouse, blue jeans and white sports jacket didn't look entirely ridiculous on the young exec, and Elsa smiled when she realised she was actually wearing tennis shoes. Trainers to the office? Easily made her feel overdressed in her beige business ensemble. "Um, so you guys want the grand tour? I promise it will be super boring!"

For the next hour or so, the two North Mountain mainstays trailed along behind Anna as she pointed out various features. A lot of these were in the factories downstairs, the packaging and assembly branches, and here and there she shared a memory from her childhood or something her parents had related to her. A cornerstone of the building had a plaque on it, declaring the date and time it had been laid. Elsa's heart seized. This really was far more than a company to her new flatmate. It was everything about her life that she still had to hang onto.

"And this… was my mother and father's office."

"They shared an office?" Elsa asked offhandedly as she stared around the ornate, wood-panelled room with its shelves full of books and various old keepsakes. As was traditional these days, it was situated two floors beneath the aircar pad to allow for possible crash-and-collapse per city safety regulations. There were indeed two desks, though one of them appeared to be largely ornamental of late. How coupley could you get?

"Here they are," Anna said softly, gesturing to a painting that hung opposite the windows. A kindly brown-haired man with an extremely-pronounced beard stood next to a vital-looking redhead, both of them grinning. The man seemed familiar to Elsa somehow, but she suspected she'd come across a picture of him during her research into Snowman Home Robotics and its history. "Colin and Alicia. Double the trouble. They knew how to keep this company thriving like they were dancing the Charleston - which they could also do really well. Used to entertain everybody at the company's New Year's Ball with their footwork. Couple o' crazy kids."

Elsa wanted to comfort her. She wanted to draw her into a hug and never let her go, and not simply from her less respectable intentions. Because Anna was unhappy in a world without her family. Couldn't she console her friend, or would it be crossing an unspoken boundary?

"Anna-"

"So!" Anna said brightly as she turned, clapping her hands together, cheeks bunched with cheer that may have only partly been false. "Either of you have any questions about Snowman, a North Mountain subsidiary?"

At those words, Elsa nearly deflated, but kept herself looking mostly professional. "Please don't throw it back in my face, you know this isn't what I wanted."

Anna's smirk was slightly subdued. "It's called 'gallows humour', Froiland. Just trying to get used to the idea."

"If you two black comedians are finished?" Kai interrupted gently, hefting his e-valise. "Where do I set up shop? Really, anywhere is fine, just as long as I know that's where I'm supposed to be."

"God, I am so rude today, what is up with me?!" Laughing at her lightly-blushing self, Anna made for the door.

"Listen-" Elsa began again, and was interrupted again.

"Let's get a move on so Mr. Hall can settle in. He's got a lot of catching up to do, right?"

Once they had gone down two floors and shown Kai into a corner office roughly double the size of all the nearby ones (but still dwarfed by the one Anna normally occupied), the two of them left him to the tottering stack of old paper files and the equally-disorganized digital ones. As they rode up in the elevator, Elsa whispered, "It's a lovely premises."

"Thanks," Anna said briskly. "I'm pretty partial to it."

It was then Elsa noticed that Anna had pushed the button for the roof. "Oh, I… oh."

"Hmm?"

"Well, just I had been expecting to be here until lunch."

"Oh," Anna said, startled out of her sour mood. "Why?"

"Well, to spend time with you, obviously." Her heart suddenly got snagged somewhere as their elevator rose, and she felt it plummeting away from her as she followed with, "If you want to! That is, you come around to my office but I've never been to yours, and- but if you have work to do, naturally I should be on my way. Don't want to be an imposition."

"You're not!" Anna burst out, taken aback. "Oh God, I- wow, I'm so sorry, Elsa, I was all caught up in this merger and feeling sorry for myself, and I wasn't thinking about… aw, man." As the elevator dinged open at the roof, she said, "I apologise."

"For what?" Elsa said politely. "You can't help it if you're cross with me for being inadvertently responsible for your current predicament."

"Sure I can! I can grow up and stop being a whiny baby!"

The way Anna's clenched fists made her look like a toddler throwing a tantrum in the middle of a department store forced a bemused smile onto Elsa's face. "That aside, if I'm reminding you of things you'd rather not be thinking about right now, so obviously I should be on my way."

"I have leftover Chinese down in my mini-fridge," Anna told her firmly. "And some cereal pouches if you haven't had breakfast yet."

"Cereal pouches? Aren't those… for childr-"

"They are delicious and convenient!" Anna blustered, folding her arms over her chest in defiance. "Especially now that they are higher in fibre content!"

Elsa chuckled lightly, looking down at her taupe heels as the lift doors slid shut again. They seemed to keep doing that, neglecting to accomplish what they walked into the elevator to do in the first place. "Prove it to me, then."

Down in the office, Elsa wound up selecting one Nutberry Squeeze, while Anna herself enjoyed a Crunchy Chocorama. She was already halfway through her pouch when Elsa took the first cautious sip.

"It disturbs me that I feel it reconstituting in my mouth," Elsa said around the mouthful of cereal that magically appeared in place of the viscous substance that had been in the packet a moment ago.

"You've really never had one?" Anna asked, brownish milk dribbling down her chin before she swiped at it with her hand. As she snagged a napkin from a drawer, the redhead swallowed before saying, "Man, what kind of sheltered childhood did you have?"

"Very. My parents didn't believe in anything that was for common folk. They also didn't believe in 'fads' or novelties." Elsa gave a helpless shrug as she turned the sachet over to browse the nutritional information. "Wasn't any fun, as I told them on countless occasions, but I suppose I survived."

Nodding, Anna finished off her pouch and tossed it in the recycler. "I was kind of spoiled, I guess. Not in getting everything I wanted, but like… in being allowed to try new things. Dad would try to spoil me rotten, and Mom would kind of make the call whether or not it was okay on a case-by-case basis. Really miss that… having somebody to filter out what could be too much of a good thing for me." She then propped her feet up on the desk, crossing them at the ankles and leaning back in her desk chair, sighing at the ceiling. "So what do you really think?"

"Mmm?" Elsa replied around another mouthful.

"About Snowman. You have bigger companies to look after, ones you've visited. So give it to me, the straight dope. What shot do I have?"

Frowning, she sat the half-empty pouch on the desk. "You have every shot! Come now, we've discussed this; simply because you went through hard times doesn't m-"

"I know," Anna grunted, apparently chafing at Elsa's attempt to coddle her. She turned her gaze to the other desk in the office. "Just… I'm failing them, you know? Not because I didn't try, but because I didn't learn from them enough. Didn't inherit their knack."

Elsa found herself distinctly uncomfortable. She was typically no good at comforting people, but Anna made her want to try harder than she had for anything in recent memory. "Perhaps you just haven't developed the skill enough yet. You are at the start of your career, not the finish! Acumen will come in time."

"But I'm _out _of time," Anna whispered sadly. "Look at his chair, Elsa. Nobody's ever going to sit there again, and in a year or two, mine will probably be empty, too. And I'll just be a cog in the wheel of somebody else's legacy. Maybe it'll be yours, and that's not so bad, I guess… but I still…"

Unable to stand it any longer, Anna nearly flung herself from the chair and strode to the windows, looking out over the nearby buildings. When her shoulders began shaking, Elsa followed with hesitant steps, sorting through a thousand possible responses to this situation.

"You're going to think I'm stupid," Anna said in a grief-soaked whisper, "but… the last thing I said to my father was that I didn't want to take over this company. That I didn't care about his life's work."

"Erhm… weren't you five when he died?"

Anna shrugged. "So? What a little brat I was."

"How were you to have known or understood at five that you could lose him? Or what the company meant to him? It isn't fair to put that kind of pressure on your infant self."

"It doesn't matter! He's still gone, and I still… I'm paying for it now! Because now I don't get to keep our Snowman! Which is the last thing I told him, and it- and it happened, even though I changed my mind later! No takesies-backsies, right?!"

Elsa's hand clamped down on Anna's upper arm, but she shrugged it away. So much for that. Elsa had only taken a half-step back in retreat, debating leaving the room at the least and the entire building at the most, giving her time and space, when Anna turned and flung herself against the elder exec, sobbing without reservation into her taupe lapels.

_Christ, _Elsa thought frantically, hands already hovering over Anna's back. _Now what?! How do I do this without putting too much of myself, my feelings, into it? I can't handle this sort of pressure! _

The decision was brought to a head when she felt Anna stiffen self-consciously, her grip on Elsa's shoulders shifting instead of remaining tight. She was about to pull away, probably to apologise for losing her composure. Elsa was going to fail this test of friendship with entirely deplorable marks. Half-seconds remained.

"No, no," she whispered, her own voice tight, smoothing over Anna's back as lightly as she could, eventually moving one hand up to rest on her ginger crown. "Mustn't talk like that."

"Sorry," Anna sobbed, still rigid, still undecided. "I… this isn't your job, I don't even know what I'm doing anymore, you-"

"It's alright. Let it go if you must. I… you have me. You have me here and now, and I won't abandon you."

That was dangerously close to an admission, but she hoped it straddled the line.

"You're here…" Anna's voice hitched as she sobbed again, grinding her face against Elsa's jacket and button-down. "It's so fricking ridiculous! I still want to blame you for everything, still feel part of myself resenting you, and yet h-here you are, the only person in the world who can make me feel any b-better! What the hell _is _that?!"

"Please, Anna, I- all I want is to help, any way I can. This isn't enough, though, I just… how could I have let this happen to you? How could I have lost control of my own boardroom at the precise moment it meant hurting the person that…"

Correction: she hadn't been dangerously close a moment ago. _Now _she was.

After a moment, Anna drew back to gaze up at Elsa in mild confusion, bleary eyes searching. "The person that…?"

Elsa's face twitched slightly, and she dropped her eyes away, unable to speak, having no way to refute what she had been about to say or turn it into something else. A few lies tried to bubble up from the darker parts of herself, but how could she use one while staring into those wide, innocent blue-green orbs below her?

Then Anna's eyes dropped to her own fingers playing across beige jacket-shoulders. Her head leaned back slightly, feeling a comforting hand there. Milliseconds later, she appeared to be more frightened than Elsa had ever seen her.

The words tumbled from Elsa's lips before she could stop them. "What are you thinking?"

"I…" She had made to answer immediately, but then behaved as if she had come to the end of a hallway only to find a familiar door was missing. Unsettled. Out of place. Lost. "Um…"

"Tell me."

Anna swallowed thickly, face slowly fading to a chalky hue. "I w-was… thinking that I wished Hans could have treated me… like this. Like you do."

Immediately, Elsa was all too aware of Anna's nearness, of how their chests were pressing against each other, of one of her knees up against a foreign one. The roughness of the denim on her skin below her hemline. Anna's breath was falling hot on her chin and neck.

Two of Anna's fingers were on her cheek, thumb on her chin. Anna looked as if she had no idea her hand was acting of its own accord. She looked completely beside herself. She looked like a ghostly goddess trying to divine her true purpose in the moment or else she could never return to the ascended plane to which she belonged.

A chime sounded from Anna's desk.

Explosively, the two flung themselves away from one another, panting and shaking. Elsa was the first to turn away, pressing her hand into her own face. "I… Anna, this…"

"What the hell was that?"

"I'm sorry!" she burst out in a strangled whisper.

"No, don't be sorry!" Anna said, her voice strong even while vibrating with thick emotion. "Just… just tell me what it was, Elsa, I need to understand, I need you to tell me because I, I… I have no idea!"

The laugh that escaped Elsa's throat was so bleak it barely qualified as one. "What makes you think I understand any more than you?"

"Because you are older and smarter and better than me, so if you don't know, then how am I supposed to figure it out?!"

"Not better." Elsa turned to find Anna's still-white face staring at her, pleading, desperate. "Nothing about you is inferior to me. To anyone."

"I'm- wait, what?"

"Anna, don't you understand how unparalleled you are?"

The desk chimed again. Anna ignored it, mouth working to produce a word, any word, and finding that she had none. One of her hands raised to reach for Elsa before falling uselessly away.

"You'd probably better see to that," Elsa bade her softly.

"Gerda can wait." Collecting herself, she strode over and grabbed Elsa by the forearm, teeth gritted. "Elsa, I have to know what just happened here. I've never felt anything like that before!"

Lip trembling, Elsa told her, "I couldn't stand hearing you like that, I… only wanted to help. To make you feel less miserable, even if just a bit."

"Bullshit."

At that word, Elsa felt her anger rising. Jaw clenching, she growled, "No, it isn't."

"It is. That's not all you wanted."

"It was." When Anna merely stood staring expectantly, everything exploded. "What do you think you know, anyway?! How are you such an expert on my inner workings?! I'm telling you I saw you hurting and wanted to do whatever I could to ease your pain, and you say I'm a liar! Damn, but that's rich, that is! Where do you get off?!"

"I'm not-"

"Isn't it enough that you mean so much to me? That I want to help?! That I can't resist helping you whenever possible?!"

She took several ragged breaths before chancing a look at Anna. She still looked frightened. No, beyond frightened - she looked scared out of her wits.

"Elsa…"

"See to your call," she breathed shakily, trying to take a step and stumbling, but Anna's arm was still on hers and kept her upright. Then the other one slipped up to rest on her neck, and Elsa's mind became a blank slate.

"Elsa, please."

Tears fell from the CEO's lashes. "Don't. You can't."

"Why not?"

"Because we have a working relationship and a domestic arrangement. Because things are already too tangled and complicated as it is."

Anna jerked her hand back, but the other one didn't leave Elsa's arm. It was such a curious mixed reaction that Elsa turned to look at Anna again, belatedly remembering she would be revealing the strain and grief in her own features.

Anna was still frightened, but also determined. Her lips were working up the courage to speak again, eyes crinkling at the corners in something akin to pain.

"H… h-how long?"

"How long for me, or how long has it been you?"

Her mouth dropped open. "Wh- what do you mean, it's me?" Then she blinked that away. "You know what? I don't even know what I'm asking, let alone what answers I want."

"Anna, all you have to know is that in the short time we've known each other, I already count you among my dearest friends," Elsa rushed ahead, words jostling each other, each attempting to emerge first. "And whatever you're thinking right now is so vastly unimportant in the face of that, alright? So just… so just set it aside and forget about it, please. I'm begging you to do that for me."

Only now did Anna start crying. "What are you saying? I mean so much to you th-that… that you want to bury the lead, t-to put me above your own… your own-"

"I'd rather you not finish that, actually."

"God, that's terrible! I m-mean, it's beautiful, but it's unfair!"

Gritting her teeth again, Elsa jerked her arm free. She couldn't handle being touched by Anna any longer, not while maintaining her good sense. And her self-control. "It is more than fair. And if I truly were doing something beautiful, I could do it without… mucking it up."

"Who says you mucked anyth-"

"Your face says I have!" she bellowed. "Look at you, you're so… I never wanted to see you looking that way, much less at my hand, Anna! How could I have let this happen, how could I have been so stupid and careless?!"

"Elsa, stop!" Anna sobbed. "Please, just stop shouting, you're not- this is hurting me!"

Everything grew quiet for several eternal seconds. The desk chimed yet again. Trembling like a leaf, the elder woman started backing toward the door. "I am hurting you, aren't I? I knew it. Knew it would come to this. Knew you would get hurt in the end. Every sodding time."

Stricken, Anna took a desperate step forward. "No, God, that's n-not what I-"

"See to your call, Anna, I… can show myself out."

"Elsa, wait! You can't leave now, not in the middle of-"

But she was already barrelling out the doors and down the hallway, thumb jabbing into the elevator button. Footsteps sounded behind her, but the lift dinged and admitted her, and in she went, thumbing for the roof.

At the far end of the hallway, she saw Anna looking entirely at a loss, one hand raised as if to grasp something spectral that was eluding her. The hurt and confusion in her eyes cut straight through Elsa's heart, leaving it a gory mess.

_Now you've done it, imbecile._

Half an hour later found her in another aircab, approaching the North Mountain property. She was a nauseated, shivering wreck of a woman, huddled up against the door and half-hoping the safety measures would glitch and let her tumble the many stories to the pavement below.

_You can't do this again, _she was mentally berating herself. _Not after last time. She almost died, and it was your fault, no matter how indirectly. Nobody should have to go through that again, least of all someone as sweet and kind, as sharp and unflappable as that astounding young thing you just utterly destroyed today. So forget it. Forget about her and let her move on._

As if by divine intervention, that was the very instant a slight hum and vibration at her wrist told her she had a text.

Swiping at her misty eyes, she pulled it up to find with no small amount of surprise that it was from Anna. Already? She didn't want to read it. She couldn't read it.

When the text opened a few seconds later, one short, terse line glared up at her from the holographic display:

_I will b home 4 dinner and so will u or else._

Grinning in spite of herself, Elsa closed the text and watched as the dock came into view. How could any one person make her feel both bitterly sorrowful and amused in the very same instant? There should be a law against that.

_- To Be Continued -_


	7. Investment Assessment

NOTE: Lotta drama in this chapter. Well, not so much drama as figuring things out post-drama. It's almost a throwaway installment except that it's such a crucial stepping stone in their relationship. Anyway, had to get it done and over with so the next few chapters can go the way I want them to. Boy, was this hard to write, though!

As to all the people who found themselves "confused" by the latter half of chapter 6… good. Everybody was confused. That's the point, to leave the reader feeling how Anna and Elsa felt. And if you can't tell why Elsa keeps trying not to allow herself to have another relationship, maybe you should pay attention to when other characters mention her previous ones. (Hell, it even happened in the _same chapter._) But hopefully this chap will answer all questions - at least the ones ready to be addressed! -mad cackling-

_Jessex_

* * *

Chapter 7: Investment Assessment

The hour was abysmal when Elsa Froiland trudged into her living room. She had expected it to be empty by then. It wasn't.

"You can't be serious."

"Dinner was six hours ago," Anna breathed into the darkness from her perch on one end of the couch. The only difference Elsa could see in her between now and when they had last spoken was the absence of the sport jacket and her hair being pulled back. Had she really been sitting there since mealtime? "It's cold now."

Glancing to one side, Elsa saw the half-dozen empty takeout containers on the counter. The pang it gave her barely registered after a full day of international teleconferencing, crunching numbers and internal torture. "I've eaten. At the office."

"Right."

"And I'm off to bed."

_"Wrong." _Anna's voice gave no room for argument.

"Fine," Elsa gusted as she literally tore her heels from her feet and flung them at the closed door to her bedroom. When they struck with a double-thump, Anna only flinched the tiniest amount. "That's fine. Let's have it out right here and now, in the dead of night! Makes as much sense as the rest of my life, I suppose!"

"Have what out?" Anna's voice was pure steel, but her face was impassive. "I haven't been waiting here all night to scream at you or whatever. I'm only a little miffed you tried to avoid me."

That cut through Elsa's sour mood like a hot knife through butter. Support structure of anger and self-loathing beginning to crumble, she asked, "Then why…?"

"Park your posterior." Against her own better judgement, Elsa took a nearby chair. "Good. Now, let's start at the beginning."

"Beginning of what?"

"Of when you started having feelings for me."

Instantly, her face began to heat up and her head felt light. "Not sure what you're talking about."

"Come on!" Anna sighed in exasperation, head dipping to one side, ponytail swaying gently. "After all that in the office? You pretty much told me that it was our working relationship and living situation that kept you from… well, wanting to be more. And what's more than friends? Hint: it's a simple question with a simple answer."

"Nothing, Anna. _Nothing _is more than friends. That is the utmost, and worth far more than… than a so-called 'deeper' bond."

"I don't know if I buy tha-"

"Then check your bank statement, because it's the truth, damn it! Do you have any notion of how few good friends I have?! I would sacrifice _anything _to keep you among their number!" Looking away from Anna at last, she pressed her middle finger to one temple and thumb to the other. "Yes, I know it's weird because we just met, and yes, I know you have no reason to trust me now that… that this secret has been revealed. But can't you try to believe me?"

"I believe you."

The simplicity of the response knocked Elsa over with its feather-lightness. "Really?"

Anna tried to smile, valiantly. It mostly worked. "Hey, it looks to me like this is kind of killing you. Holding that against you when you're clearly not doing it for kicks, I- I can't even imagine doing it. Just… why couldn't you tell me? Did you really think I was one of those, those homophobic nutjobs who'd think any less of y-"

"No, no," Elsa hurriedly assured her. "Though I'd be lying if I said the worry never crossed my mind, but mostly… no, who would believe that of you?"

Anna waited a moment for Elsa to elaborate. She didn't. She simply stared down at her knees, at her toes rumpling the area rug beneath them out of nerves. "Then I… come on, help me a little."

"I didn't want you to know how I look at you. How I think about you. It's dangerous."

"How is it dangerous? You wouldn't hurt me."

"Not hurt you. But… I could do things that might make you uncomfortable, or distressed, or even simply disappointed, and that's bad enough!"

"So go ahead." When Elsa looked up sharply, blue eyes wide with disbelief, Anna instantly averted her own eyes from the intensity there, from the cold fire. "N-not giving any promises of how I'd react, but we are both mature adults! Why shouldn't you be who you are? I can handle it."

Elsa simply gaped at her freckle-faced companion, bottom lip slightly hanging open as she tried to process this latest development. "You're going to be okay if I…" She couldn't even finish. For some reason, even the very thought of acting on her idle fantasies made her feel ill, as if she were tainting something so pure that it was a crime against nature. "No. Not you, I couldn't."

Anna shrugged, though her hands were shaking from where they lay clasped on her lap. "Then don't. I'm not trying to pressure you into anything, either! Just… geez, I really hate to think about you not being yourself around me, trying to change yourself for my sake, that's- please don't, okay? Just be Elsa Froiland. And…"

When the pause had gone beyond pregnant and carried nearly to full term, Elsa prompted, "And?"

"And… you're my friend, too. And I trust you." A quiet, wary laugh. "We did just meet, but so what? Everybody's gotta start somewhere."

"How can you be so casual? You just… handed me license to make advances. To treat you as more than a friend and see how it goes. It's been very, _very _few women I've met who are open to that from the off. Well, ones I didn't meet at…"

After several seconds of tense silence, Anna hazarded a guess. "Gay bars?"

_"Shhh!"_

"Why should I shush?" Anna snickered quietly. "It's not like somebody's hiding behind the couch with a recording device!"

"I've never been comfortable there. In the 'scene'. Receive enough attention, yes, but it… God, I'm so anxious and shy there. It's the opposite of how I carry myself in the boardroom. And I hate it. That isn't me, and I despise that other version of myself."

Anna's face began to soften slowly, losing some of the tension it had been holding onto since long before Elsa walked in from the world. "You're not a dater, okay. And finding, um, available girls is harder when you don't know if they'd be interested. I get it."

"You don't!" Elsa sighed weakly, flopping against the back of her chair. "No reason you should, either. My position makes me susceptible to character assassination. It's a sad and unfair truth, but knowing I'm…"

"A lesbian," Anna prompted.

"A lesbian," Elsa growled distastefully.

"Why can't you say it?"

She shrugged helplessly. "Not really sure. Just… it's partly that I don't want to draw attention to my romantic affiliations whatsoever. Exposing myself to jibes seems foolish, doesn't it?"

"Who would dare make fun of-"

"You saw my board of directors. Mostly old, white, straight, and male."

Frowning, Anna nodded her assent. "Guess so."

"Beyond that, though, I just dislike the label. It may be appropriate, but I've never thought of myself that way. Probably sounds silly."

"Well, maybe you're not. Maybe you're a trans-man. See? If you were, the label wouldn't really fit, anyway!"

Blinking in surprise, Elsa leaned forward slightly, frowning in concentration at the suddenly cheery redhead in front of her. "You… what would you know about trans folk, anyway?"

"I had a roommate in college," Anna went on as if annoyed at having to reroute her train of thought. "She had been a 'he' when I first met her. We even went through the gender-neutral pronoun phase, but um, that always kind of confused me, to be honest- I kept mixing them up, and then I'd feel terrible even though she said she didn't mind, and I swear I was _trying _not to be a-"

"Wait, hold up right there," Elsa interrupted with a slight laugh, heart warming considerably. "I am most definitely a woman. I did go through a questioning phrase when I realised I fancy girls, but it didn't last long in my case. Very comfortable with my identity, but… thanks for asking, at any rate."

Anna waffled. "You're mad."

"No, I meant that! Thank you for asking." Clearing her throat, she leaned her arms against her knees and stared at her hands as they folded over each other. "Unfortunately, that's part of the problem we have. You're just too perfect sometimes."

No answer came right away. Minutes passed before the hesitant whisper asked, "Really?"

"Yes, really," Elsa burst out as if the words had literally been pressing against her teeth from the moment after she last spoke. "That you even thought to ask if I might be trans… it's leagues beyond what I had any right to expect. To be frank, I expected you to realise you were cohabitating with a muff diver and run screaming into the night. That you even made it _to _this conversation is incredible, and here you are trying to help _me _figure everything out? You cannot be real. You have to be some sort of fantastic daydream."

"I am scared."

"Wh-what?"

Anna was picking at her nail polish when Elsa observed her next, staring at it intently as she destroyed the painstaking work of the night previous. "Not of you, just… of what it means. Of why I would be somebody you're attracted to. Seriously, I know I'm not completely ugly or anything, but this… it really is the first time anybody of the female persuasion has…"

When Anna didn't elaborate, the CEO scooted a few inches toward her and said in soft, low tones, "You mustn't think like that, alright? It's all me. Time has proven that I usually find myself attracted to women who are completely unavailable."

"Well, not _completely,_" she half-snorted. "I am divorced and all that."

"Don't toy with me," Elsa growled as she stood and anxiously paced into the kitchen, flicking on the light and pawing through the multitude of containers. Pad Thai with no peanuts. She remembered. "You're being very good about this, but we're not at the stage where you can make jokes quite yet."

"Who's joking?"

The question came from directly behind her. Elsa whirled, the plastic fork dropping from her hand as Anna stepped closer. Socked feet shuffling, she whispered, "So, um… what if, hypothetically speaking… you have me unsure whether or not I'm straight? Hypothetically."

Heat burned in Elsa's stomach as she watched the light blush creep into Anna's face, obscuring the freckles. She didn't look entirely at ease with herself, but neither did she looked terrified or disgusted.

"You don't mean this."

"Why don't I?" Anna asked with a touch of defiance.

"Because," Elsa sighed as she leaned back against the counter. "You just found out an acquaintance of yours is gay and you're over-identifying. It's sweet, but… please don't change everything about yourself based on that. It isn't a good enough reason."

"This wouldn't change me that much! Just… maybe I could be bi! I mean, I did love Hans up until he showed his true colours - and he was fantastic in bed, in spite of everything."

"See there? You-"

"But what if you're fantastic, too?"

That heavily-loaded question left both women speechless and gaping at each other. Anna was beginning to understand how she sounded, perhaps belatedly, and took a tiny step backward.

"Anna-"

"Okay, I'm okay," she breathed, avoiding looking at Elsa. "That was… you might be right about the over-identifying part. But maybe that's not all it is. I j-just don't know yet." Rubbing at her tired-looking face, she breathed, "What I do know is that you've been a better friend to me than anyone has for so many years, and I would count myself lucky if we were… well, y'know."

"But you're terrified of being with me in that way."

"Come over here and find out how terrified." The words were seemingly out before Anna could think rationally and stop them.

Elsa began to move. Anna's entire body tensed, but she didn't run, only slowly raised her dilated pupils to gaze into Elsa's. When they were toe-to-toe, one of Elsa's thin, pale hands pressed against the side of Anna's slender neck. She leaned into the touch even as her breath caught.

"Have you been drinking?"

"No, I haven't," Anna said flatly, irritated. "Are you serious with that?"

"Had to be sure, you understand. You're about to make a decision neither one of us can ever take back if you allow this to go any further."

Anna's throat worked to swallow her uncertainty. It didn't quite succeed. "If I allow it? What about you? This isn't a one-person decision."

"Because I don't trust myself to make the right one," the elder woman hissed bitterly. "Because last time I did in this situation, things didn't turn out well. Because I care too much about you to trust your fate in my bumbling hands."

Seconds slipped by in that manner, both of them trying to calculate what the other was thinking. Finally, the dam burst, and it was Anna's words that came pouring out.

"You're just so beautiful - way beautifuller than me - and every time I turn around, you're proving that you care so much more about people than everybody else in this God-forsaken business world, and especially that you care about me! And even with all the other stuff, you didn't have to take me to your favourite coffee house, or get drunk with me, or… and so what if you're a girl? I've never been with one before! My mom used to always say, 'How do you know you don't like something unless you try it first?' And she's right, I think - well, she probably wasn't talking about _this, _but then again she was always pretty open-minded, so if she was, I think that would pretty much be her attitude, and if that's good enough for-"

"Anna."

"Yes?" she gasped breathlessly.

"You talk too much." And before either of them could stop it, Elsa's mouth was on Anna's.

A handful of heartbeats later, they both individually broke the kiss at the same instance, but not before Elsa could note how soft and pillowy her friend's lips were, how heated and flawlessly formed. The sharp intake of breath the instant before the connection that came from Anna was thrilling and perfect. Not even a full second passed. If not for their previous conversation, it could have been considered friendly, even. But that ship had not only sailed, it had broken all contact with the port.

Elsa didn't want to see it. She wanted to hide from the disgust and alarm in Anna's eyes, the words that would inevitably follow telling her that she had crossed a line, broken a sacred trust. Forced the issue the way she promised she never, ever would.

Therefore, when Anna merely blushed and averted her eyes, tucking a crimson strand behind her ear, hope flared bright, like the last flare from a gun in a dark, dank cavern. Maybe she had a chance - even if not for what she wanted most, then perhaps to salvage their friendship. Nothing was irreparably damaged. Yet.

"Scale of one to ten?" Elsa quipped feebly. Which is why she seldom quipped at all.

"Huh?" Anna whispered. Then she looked up, startled to see she wasn't alone. "Oh! I- what? How was it, you mean? I…" She cleared her throat, shifting her weight from one leg to the other, and Elsa tried not to pay attention to how her denim-covered hips moved when that happened. "Definitely, um, above an eight? My brain's still kinda fried, so gimme a minute."

Elsa found herself grinning. Why? She was terrified. Any of the next few seconds could spell the end of the most valuable relationship in her miserably desolate life. But the part of her mind focused on how Anna had just called her a good kisser was too busy turning cartwheels to care.

"J-just so you know," Anna told her softly, turning slightly to lean back against the wall next to the pantry door, "I, um, I may have had a trans roomie but… I didn't go through that 'sorority les' phase or anything. You really are… the, um… my first girl-kiss."

"It's quite an honour."

Then, finally, Anna giggled. She giggled hard, recklessly, self-consciously but also freely. Her eyes weren't avoiding Elsa completely, but they kept flicking to her and flicking away again, like a reticent bee who's found his favourite blossom but fears insecticide. After a moment, they were both laughing, Elsa's more even and controlled than Anna's but no less self-conscious.

When the laughter died, they were simply staring at each other, gazes locked, four orbs connected by an invisible thread.

"Aren't you supposed to pin me to the wall now?" Anna prompted in a hushed tone.

"I could do that." Elsa took a step forward and saw Anna flinch. "Or not."

"Or not, huh?" she countered boldly, despite how hard she was shaking. "You backing down now?"

"Anna…"

"Do I have to do all the work? That hardly seems fair. You're the one with experience, and I'm the newbie. Step up."

"Anna, stop."

A shrug that was more of a shiver. "Stopping isn't what I had in mind, but hey."

A moment later, Elsa's arms were gently wrapping around Anna, chin in the crook of her neck. It took a tense twenty seconds for Anna to relax against the embrace, letting out a pair of mostly-dry sobs before her breathing evened out. Another minute or two passed as she simply soaked in the nearness of her flatmate, trying to let some of her anxiety go.

"God, don't hate me, okay?"

"Why should I?" Elsa asked, astonished at her friend's attitude.

"Because I… w-wanted to push myself to accept you this way, and I screwed it up. You'll never wanna sleep with me or anything now. And I still don't even know if it's what I want or not. How psycho can you get?"

"Straight girls," Elsa grunted with mock-exasperation. "Find out you're a lesbian and they automatically think you want to shag them."

"Wait, what? But you s-said- oh." Anna slapped Elsa's back lightly. "Don't be a jerk, I'm trying, here! And I thought you didn't like that label!"

"As I said, it does save explanations sometimes." When she drew back, she made sure to touch Anna on the sides of her head firmly, for the affection to be solid and not hesitant, devoid of those hints of possible desire. To conceal her wanting. "Are you alright? Truly?"

"Will be. Soon enough." Then her brow furrowed. _Adorably_, Elsa thought. "There's just this one other thing."

Elsa nodded encouragingly. "What's that?"

"Stop me if this is none of my business, but you said that last time, things didn't go so well. What do you mean by that? Last time you were… with someone?"

The fragile mood crashed to a jarring halt in an instant. The glow in Elsa's eyes died and the calm eroded to display the same itchy anxiousness she tended to display around Anna in their everyday interactions. Backing up a few steps, she turned to examine a container of steamed rice. "Possibly."

"What happened?"

"Everything went wrong."

Anna waited a very long time for Elsa to continue. Minutes went by, no sound but their strained breathing. After a while, Elsa began to peck at the food. Then Anna did. They ate it cold, side by side, in silence, tiny mouthfuls at a time. Once, Anna opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

As they were putting the remaining portions away in the refrigerator, Elsa finally said, "We'll need to pick you out something suitable for the gala."

"The g- oh, yeah. Mondo party. All sorts of crazy bigwigs."

"Right. Care to go tomorrow evening? We'll put it on my account."

Anna bent to pick up the plastic fork and toss it in the recycler. "Sure. Gotta do it sooner or later."

"Yes." Looking around the kitchen and finding there was nothing more to do, Elsa dusted off her hands and said, "Well, then. See you after work."

"Elsa?"

"Hmm?"

Anna slowly slid her hands around Elsa's neck, but Elsa immediately took them away and forced them down in front of her. "No."

"But just-"

"_No, _Anna. Not merely because you're uncertain."

"Don't you even want this?" Anna urged. "I mean, I'm really pushing the envelope for me, and you're kind of stepping all over my mojo!"

"Miss Snowman." Elsa's eyes darkened slightly as she jerked Anna's arms out to either side, slapping their stomachs together as she leaned in until their noses made contact. Instantly, Anna was trembling. "You know full well that I want this by now, I should think. We are now simply waiting on you to think everything through. Really do it, not just go on gut instinct." Her voice dropped in register. "Because if you change our relationship, I will not hold back in the slightest. You will feel the full force of my need. I will burn you alive with it, I will freeze your heart solid. I will fray and flay your every last nerve. And then and only then, once you have withstood my intensity, will I take your body and make it my playground. That is what it means to be with Elsa Froiland. Choose wisely."

Anna's breaths were coming in heady pants. Her pulse was thundering in her throat - Elsa could _see it _- and her cheeks were flushed, eyelids heavy. A pink tongue darted out to wet her lips. The measured words that had been both promise and warning had an effect she had not foreseen: Anna was turned on.

_Oh no, _Elsa thought in panic. _I really went too far. She just licked her lips - nobody does that when they're this close to somebody unless they're about to- no, stop it! Back away. Just let go of her hands and back away. Now, Elsa. Do it now._

When Elsa let go of Anna's hands, they flew to her lapels, drawing the CEO in as if to kiss her. But she stopped. Their lips a hair's breadth apart, Anna turned her head aside slightly, gritting her teeth.

"Man," she breathed shakily. "Y-you're right, I need to think about it. I don't want to, though. I want you right now. It's the most insane thing I've ever heard myself say, but it's the truth. How did you do this to me, Elsa?"

"I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen to you, I swear! You were only-"

"No, stop. I… I didn't even mean that. All you did was love me, like a real friend does. And more than that, too. What kind of bitch would complain about that?"

"You don't care that I'm ruining it? Tainting our friendship?"

Biting her lip gently, the younger woman took a hesitant step back, running two fingers over Elsa's cheek as she had once before. "Don't be dumb. Our friendship is fine." Then she put her hands behind her back. "Just what we call it is kind of up in the air right now."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Sure I'm sure. Absitively, posolutely. Um… tomorrow, right?"

Elsa nodded. "Goodnight, Anna."

The redhead was halfway to the bathroom door in the hallway when she called over her shoulder, "What would it be like?"

"Sorry?"

"If we said goodnight… but were in the same bed."

It was sort of a rhetorical question, but Elsa didn't have an answer anyway. Instead, she merely shrugged and whispered, "Couldn't begin to fathom."

"Huh. Maybe I can find out someday." And with that possibility-laden statement, Anna turned on the light and slipped in, closing the door behind her.

_- To Be Continued -_


	8. Maximising Leverage

NOTE: Okay, you all have every right to be angry with me. This took far longer than it ought. To be fair, I've had a very weird month-and-change… BUT that's none of your concern! Thanks for all the reviews and follows, I'm doing my best, but I don't want to simply sit down and belch up a "passable" chapter; I want to hold onto it until I'm sure it's what we all want! And I think this… comes… somewhat close to being just that, eh? EH?!

Also, thanks to Seriadne (she's on FFnet) for dumping tea on my head!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Jessex

* * *

Chapter 8: Maximising Leverage

"Hey, you got a call while you were out!"

Rolling her eyes, Elsa had to resist the temptation to crumple the banana muffin in her hand into a delicious-but-unappealing mess as she dropped back into her chair and scooted it up to her desk. "Who from, OLAF?"

"From… Yzma!" the computerised voice announced once its voice software had checked the spelling of the entry in her address book against its database of approved pronunciations. "Wanna hear the vidmail?"

"Yes, play vidmail."

"Righty-o!"

Mouthing "righty-o?" to herself in disbelief, she watched as the projection flickered to life and showed her the wizened-old woman she had grown so used to tolerating.

"Elsa, it's Yzma. Can you see me in this thing?" Her bony knuckles rapped against the lens of the camera, and Elsa flinched backward. "Right, well anyway, yes. Got some news for you on the front of your ill-fated contract negotiations. You _know _I don't come cheap. This is going to cost you a very pretty penny, but… I've got the team working on a happy little program that may just be able to tunnel through their firewalls and turn up what you need."

At that, the CEO's mood brightened considerably. She had all but given up on Yzma even returning her call on this topic by now. Her mouth opened to ask a question before she remembered that it was a recorded message.

"We're still a week or so out from finishing development, but trust me, cookie, your people will get their money's worth. The only real downside is that you'll only have a few days between its completion and when the intelligence agencies get wind of its specs and determine it's virtual poison or some other technically-illegal drivel. Luddites."

Grinning at the abrasive charm Yzma always displayed, she rested one elbow against the desk, propping her head up and gazing at her old mentor in awe. She really had learned from the best.

"Have your offshore accounts in order and I'll prepare your bundle of joy as fast as I can crack the whip over their heads downstairs. I'm not sure where Kuzco found these dimwits but they had better shape up, or they will find themselves in permanent _outplacement_. Ta, ducky."

It was all Elsa could do to contain her excitement. This was fabulous! Perhaps it would have been better if this could have turned up a week or so ago, but so what? Better late than never! All of their luck had turned around in a heartbeat! She had to call-

Anna.

Instantly, her good cheer was tempered with melancholy. The young exec was in quite a lot of trouble of her own right now, overseeing a painful transition within her company and a potentially more distressing transition in her personal life. All Elsa wanted to do was gather her up in her arms and tell her everything was going to be alright, but that was a big part of the problem in the first place.

_I can't believe I've done this to her, _she berated herself as she chewed at the muffin, the flavour she normally quite enjoyed seeming dulled by her inner turmoil. _Here I was so determined to be the shoulder she could cry on, a shelter in this storm, and instead I turned into the storm itself, crashing at her ship until it capsized. What a monster I turned out to be._

Elsa was still in the same position ten minutes later when Olaf piped up, "Call from… Anna!"

Scrambling to not look quite so bleak, she breathed, "Answer."

There she was, seated behind her desk. For the first half-second, she was still glancing down a datapad of some sort before she noticed the call had connected, at which point she set it down and beamed at Elsa. "Hey there, roomie!"

"Hello," she answered cautiously. This didn't bode particularly unwell. Yet. "How are things?"

"They're things," Anna giggled. Unbelievably, Elsa could just make out that she was biting her lip for a moment, but in the next she was saying, "Um, so I have a pretty light load here at the office today, what with Kai sorta taking up my slack with the books, so I was thinking I could catch the train and meet you when you get off, and we can head to wherever you're going to stuff me into some ballgown straight from there. Sound good?"

"W-well, yes," Elsa stuttered before mentally slapping herself across the face. "Lovely. Come around whenever you wish, I'll be here."

"Awesome! See you in a few!"

And then the call was over. Elsa didn't even get the chance to mention her call with Yzma and its promising news.

"Why am I so bloody useless?" she breathed as she slumped downward.

"Don't know that one, ma'am!" OLAF chirruped.

"Oh, get bent."

~ o ~

The hours flew by after that. Possibly because Elsa did not want them to fly by; the more time her mind could get used to the idea of Anna arriving, the better. Unfortunately, this was not to be.

"Hey!" Anna called as she flounced in, still waving to Karamelli over her shoulder. "You mind a pizza? I got one on my way over, figured we can gorge ourselves and then worry less about our stomachs while we shop."

"But then your dress will be tighter," Elsa reasoned as she eyed the greasy cardboard box suspiciously. "Shouldn't you get fitted for it _before _eating?"

The one-eyebrowed laugh she gave clearly conveyed her opinion of that, but she spoke anyway. "Are you kidding? I wanna be able to eat those hoity-toities out of of house and home while I'm at the party! Bring on the breathing room!"

Shaking her head and smiling against her will, Elsa moved aside the datapad and cup of cold coffee to give Anna room to set the box down, which she did a half-second following. Elsa was still staring at it in some trepidation when Anna had already bitten into a slice, and was just picking one up when Anna had finished.

"Have you like, never eaten pizza before?"

"Of course I have," Elsa sighed irritably. "Back at university. Once."

Anna laughed aloud at that admission. "Well, now's the time to try it again!"

"But… I don't eat pork products."

"It's turkey pepperoni," Anna reassured her. "Just eat, already!"

Making a face, Elsa sank her teeth into the cheesy, gooey mess sloshing around atop crusty bread. She chewed for a moment, then shrugged and set it back down in the box. "Passable."

"_Pashable?!" _Anna burst out, her mouth full. A fleck of pizza sauce dripped onto the box lid. "I wend upthown for thish!" Swallowing with some difficulty, she waved her slice at Elsa. "Come on, you can't just stop there!"

"URGH!" Elsa burst out, picking up the piece and taking a bite twice as large as any she had ever taken of anything, save the bagel Anna had watched her inhale. As she chewed it slowly, not daring emulate Anna's uncouth behaviour, she slowly began to appreciate the subtle blending of flavours, the way it echoed less plebian italian cuisine. Still nothing she wanted to eat on a daily basis, but far better than she remembered.

"Aha!" Anna laughed, halfway through her second slice. "I see that, Elsa Froiland!"

Elsa blinked at her mildly as she swallowed. "See what?"

"You liking something! Don't try to fool me!"

"I do not." Rolling her eyes, she gusted. "Listen, enough about this damned pizza pie. I heard back from one of my contacts. We may have an _in._"

Anna's jaw paused halfway through its motions. The way her eyes watered as she swallowed that bite made it apparent that she had done so before it had been entirely chewed. "I… really? I mean, what does that mean for us now? I already signed over my company."

"We might be able to find evidence of double dealings, or other such skeletons in the Consortium's closets, and use that to undo all the damage done. One never knows. The point is, we can actually give it a real shot now instead of just wishing it could be so."

As Elsa kept eating, Anna stopped, too stunned to worry about turkey pepperoni at the moment. "So… um, all that stuff you said about waiting a year, hoping we can make a move to buy back my legacy, it wasn't just lip service? You really think it's possible?"

"Anna, I hope you know I wouldn't lie about business purely to make you feel better. If I promised you I'll do my level best to help you, I will."

"Of c-course." A tiny smile pulled at the corners of Anna's mouth as she looked away. "You really are the best ally I could have found."

_Not really, _Elsa thought to herself as she finished off her own slice. _If I were, you could actually meet my eyes right now._

~ o ~

Wonderland Galleria was the largest and most varied collection of shops in Arendelle - and, in fact, the entirety of Corona County. Three floors and hundreds of storefronts. Legendary food court that catered to dozens of different tastes. And, best of all, a trio of corkscrewing slides that went from the top floor all the way to a ball pit at the bottom, which attracted perturbed parents from miles around at the hounding of their offspring.

Not that Elsa would ever consider using the slide herself. No matter how tempting.

It was also host to Felton's, a rather exclusive clothier that was almost entirely useless to anyone with less than a six-figure salary, and still only an occasional indulgence to those with less than seven. Needless to say, Elsa Froiland had an account there.

"Elsa, _dahhhling!"_ cried out a voice that sounded like a broken glass smoothie must taste. It was issuing from the throat of a spindly woman in a flamboyant red suit with a face that looked as if it had undergone one too many surgical procedures to prevent it from looking old. Instead, it now looked alien and off-putting. Her jet-black hair played host to a shock of stark white that tore through the rest like a hurricane through a tar pit. "It's been absolutely _ages! _How did that fur I sent over work out for you?"

"Oh, fine," Elsa sighed, caught off guard by the announcement. "Ella, this is Anna Snowman, a new business acquaintance of mine. Anna, this-"

"Ella and Elsa," the woman laughed, throwing a bony arm around the CEO's shoulders. It was plain that Elsa was less than comfortable with being manhandled but took it in stride, the look of a sailor weathering a storm in place. "Quite a pair in the social circuit a couple of years ago. Before… well, to everything there is a season, as the old song goes, eh?"

"Yeah," Anna giggled good-naturedly. "Wow, am I not dressed for this place!"

"Nonsense," Ella reassured her, though she did not bother to give Anna's wardrobe more than a cursory glance. "By the time you leave, the rest of this abysmal shopping centre will not be good enough to have _you _in it, little sparrow. _Horace! Jasper!"_

Two men in somewhat bland suits hurried from a nearby trio of mannequins they were rearranging slightly and disappeared behind a counter. When they emerged a few moments later, the taller one was carrying two champagne flutes and the other a tray laden with cheese and crackers. Wasting no time, Ella picked up a flute and pressed it into Elsa's hand.

"You really must try on this orange number we just got in - an Aurora original. You'll die when you see it, just die!"

"Aurora?" Anna asked as the tall man tried to get her to take the other glass of bubbly. "I didn't know she made clothes, too."

Ella's voice dropped conspiratorially. "The whole line is being ghost-designed by one of Ralph Lauren's grandchildren, but you didn't hear that from me." Then she clapped her hands loudly, which made Anna jump because she had been leaning in to better hear the rumour. "Right, then! What are the we in the market for this fine evening? Something sporty, elegant, shocking? Ooh - there's an off-the-shoulder two-piece ensemble, shocking pink with black and green highlights… would make waves no matter _where _you unleash it upon the populace. Care to see it?"

"Less shocking and more comely," Elsa half-laughed. "We're here for Anna; I have a dress picked out. The violet one by Dearly Designs?"

At that, Ella's smile slipped a notch. "Ah, yes. Dearly."

"What?" Anna asked when nothing more was said for a few moments. "What about Dearly? I hear her dresses are perfect. Not that I'd ever get close enough to even see one," she added quietly.

"She and Ella had a falling out several years back," Elsa provided with a slight smirk as she sipped at the champagne.

"Nothing so impressive," Ella grumbled, mostly selling an air of indifference despite the muscle ticking in her jaw. "She called my alterations 'a crime against fashion'. There are only two ways a person can take that sort of unconstructive criticism: bad, and worse! I was an innocent victim of character assassination!"

"You threw pâté at her."

Blustering for a moment, Ella snatched the untouched drink intended for Anna and downed it in a single gulp. "Well?" she snapped at the startled man. "More champagne for our guests, Jasper!"

"Y-yes, ma'am!" he hissed as he took her flute and sped away.

"Now, then," she sighed as she turned back to them, withdrawing an electronic cigarette on a long stem from somewhere in her cleavage and drawing a puff of mentholated water vapour in with great relish. As it billowed from her mouth, she continued, "Miss Annie here needs a little something, eh? What's the occasion?"

"North Mountain's yearly travesty," Elsa said with a sigh.

At those words, Ella's smile turned catlike. "Always did love how you hated it so much, even though it's _your _company and the ball was _your _idea. Hoisted on your own petard, dahling?"

"We do it for charity, and for the morale of my employees. You know this."

"I do, of course." Still chuckling to herself, she turned to look Anna over. The simple teal blouse and grey slacks were as unimpressive as her black ballet flats, and one of Anna's hands went self-consciously to her braids, stroking them as if wishing she could instantly undo them and fashion her hair into something a bit more impressive. "Hmm."

"Why do I get the feeling I should have dressed up to get dressed up?" the young exec mumbled.

"It's fine, dear. I've just the thing; it'll really knock their socks off! Step this way..."

A few minutes of waiting around outside the dressing room door and Elsa was graced with the blush-inducing sight of Anna in a gaudy backless gown with an odd cut in the front that showed the top of one breast, the underside of the other, and a zig-zag down her stomach that gave glimpses of flesh so varied that Elsa stopped trying to figure out where to look.

"What the hell am I supposed to be?" Anna was snickering as she turned, gazing at her reflection in a trio of mirrors.

"Search me," Elsa replied, stifling a giggle. "A beautiful girl in a dress that got attacked by a lawnmower?"

Suddenly, Anna was gaping at her, eyes wide and stunned. "What did you call me?"

"Nope!" Ella announced, spoiling the moment before it had a chance to take root. It was just as well, since Elsa hadn't the faintest idea how she would have responded. "It's delightful, but won't suit the occasion at all! No, no, let's try another!"

Back into the dressing room. Elsa helped herself to a cheese-laden cracker while she waited, chewing at the corner of it as another couple flounced into Felton's, giggling and carrying on. The tallish man had artfully mussed ginger hair and was wearing a fashionable shirt with chaser lights on the sleeves that he was at least five years too old to pull off, youthful though his face was. The woman he had in tow sported long, flowing raven hair and her olive skin complemented the paleness of his as she hung on his arm, almond-shaped eyes contented and possessive at the same time. Her wardrobe was similarly trendy to his, but in her case, it suited her age. There was a distinct gap there.

"Miss Nejem!" Ella crowed as she left her assistants to tend Anna, kissing the young thing on either cheek. "Didn't expect to see you again, and so soon! Problem with the mink micro-mini?"

"Of course not!" Her laugh was so deep and sultry it belied her age by more than a decade, rivaling the vocal register of the old fashionista she was exchanging pleasantries with. "Gorgeous, as ever! But there's a dance I must attend in a few weeks. Something to knock the wind out of every girl there would be… _much _appreciated."

"Naturally, naturally." Her eyes wandered up to the man standing politely and waiting to be introduced. "And who might we have here?"

"Pleasure to meet you," he said with grace, taking Ella's hand and kissing the back of it as he bowed. The older woman pursed her lips slightly as she smiled, as if undecided whether or not she appreciated his manners or thought them cheeky. "I'm-"

"_HANS?!"_

The shout brought everyone and everything in the vicinity to a crashing halt, all eyes going to where Anna stood just a few steps from the door of her dressing room. Elsa was momentarily distracted by the rich velvety purple of her dress, plus the thinned sections of lace and sheer, translucent fabric that curled their way up her torso like a thousand snakes undulating. Somehow, the modest glimpse of cleavage it allowed was provocative without straying into tastelessness. Mismatched sections of dress trailed an inch above the floor, closer due to her flats than they would be with the heels they would no doubt be acquiring to complete the ensemble.

Because this _had _to be the dress she was wearing. It had to be the dress she wore for the rest of her life, whenever possible. Elsa couldn't even speak, or think, or breathe. The blinking of her eyes seemed to take eons.

"What are you doing _here?"_ the man grunted in shock, coaxing Elsa back to reality.

"Me?" Anna's mouth merely hung open for a few more seconds before she spluttered, "I'm getting fitted for a dress, I… what are _you _doing here, and who the hell is _that?!"_

An affronted look crossed the young lady's face, but Ella hastened to intervene. "I gather the two of you know each other?"

"Come on, Anna," the man sighed exasperatedly. "Don't make another scene."

At those words, Anna's face went red with mingling embarrassment and fury, and her hackles raised, fists at her sides. Even like that, she was a vision. "Your great-aunt's retirement party was _not _my fault and we both know that, Hans! Can't you ever leave anything alone?"

"Who's the shrew?" the caramel-skinned girl asked him in a stage whisper.

"Hans," Elsa breathed at last when the name connected itself with the way they were regarding each other. "The ex-husband."

"Ex-_husband?!" _she exclaimed, stepping back from him slightly. "You've been married? When were you going to let me know _that _little detail?"

Immediately, his hands reached out to clasp one of hers between them. "Baby, come on, who cares about that? Anna and I are ancient history. We have the paperwork to prove it."

"And I have the pitiful bank statement to prove it, too!" Anna growled. Then she turned on the new woman in his life and began again, forcing a smile into place. "What's your name, sweetie?"

"J-Jasmine," she stuttered, confused by her sudden change in attitude.

One of Anna's eyebrows went up slightly in wan disbelief. "Really?" But then she took a deep breath. "Okay, Jasmine, listen good. He's going to rob you blind. Whatever he's promised, however thick he lays on the compliments, you are going to end up in a cardboard box down some smelly alleyway if you don't watch your back. Trust me."

"That is enough," Hans sighed. "Just because you ran your family business into the ground doesn't make it my responsibility to-"

"What are you even _doing _here with this, this… toddler?!"

Jasmine's eyes flashed dangerously, and Elsa felt her instincts prickle. She might need to step in. "We'll be attending a dance. I need a dress. This is a place in which people buy dresses, isn't it?"

Anna sneered. "A dress to what? Homecoming?"

"Senior prom, for your information!"

At that, Elsa felt her own eyebrows flying up. "You really _are _in secondary school?" Then she looked between both Jasmine and Hans several times before settling her gaze on the man who looked as if he'd rather be crawling into one of the empty champagne flutes. "Isn't he a bit-"

"Who asked you, random old woman?" she scoffed, tossing a lock of hair over her shoulder. "We met at the gym. He bought me a smoothie, we talked… I'm his jewel of the Nile."

"And I'm her Danish Prince," Hans cooed, caressing her cheek and smiling down at the girl. Elsa thought he looked like a snake, but she had to admit the adoration in Jasmine's eyes seemed beyond genuine. All the worse for her when he crushed her under his heel.

"Something's rotten in Denmark, alright," Anna muttered.

His eyes slamming shut for a long moment, Hans dropped his hand as he sighed, "Anna, you know I hate that one."

"Give me back that disgusting divorce settlement and I'll never use it again!"

"Enough, you annoying bitch! God, I can't believe I ever saw anything in you, all you do is nag, nag, nag! What do I have to do to get you out of my life for good? Is it the money? Fine! I'm worth plenty more now than I was back then, so you can have it!"

"Ought to get that in print," Elsa muttered.

Finally turning to regard her properly, Hans snapped, "And who are you, anyway? Isn't there an episode of Supernanny somewhere with your name on it?"

Instantly, Elsa felt her entire attitude toward the situation shift. Before she had mostly felt uncomfortable but resigned to watching the events play out, an unwilling spectator - and possible eyewitness, should things take a violent turn. This was the second time the couple had slighted her for bothering to open her mouth, however, and it was time she put a stop to that. "Passive racism. Brilliant. Thank you _ever _so much - and I'm not even English, so you can have done with that right here and now."

"You sound English," he sneered as he turned back to Anna. "What's with the crumpet? Did you finally get so spazzy that your board of directors insisted you have a nurse follow you around? Knew it would happen one of these days…"

"Ugh!" Anna growled, clutching at her head as if to ensure it didn't start pulsating at his needling. "For your information, Elsa is a really g-"

She stopped there. It was clear that she had been about to say "really good friend" or something to that effect. At least, to Elsa it was. But a look stole over her. She glanced first at Elsa, then briefly at Jasmine and Ella, the latter of which had been merely hanging back and trying to decide whether to call mall security. But when her eyes went back to Hans again, the decision to act was plain as day.

Maybe if she had known what that decision would entail, Elsa would have moved to intercept or deter. As it happened, she had no chance.

"Elsa," Anna began again as her hand snaked out and caught up the named woman's, lacing their fingers together, "is my new lover!"

_- To Be Continued -_


End file.
